‘Dementia-friendly’ pharmacy training is coming to Queensland with the Pharmacy Guild’s Queensland Branch successfully acquiring funding to enable 30 pharmacies to become dementia friendly.
The funding is part of the Queensland government’s ‘Advancing Queensland: An age-friendly community grants program’. The Guild’s Dementia Friendly Pharmacy Program will now recruit 30 pharmacies across Queensland to ensure people living with dementia and their carers can be supported by teams of specially trained pharmacists and pharmacy staff.
Dementia affects a person’s thinking, behaviour and interferes with their day-to-day life.
Queensland Guild Education and Workplace Relations State Manager, Kathy Knack says pharmacies are well placed to support the growing number of people affected by dementia.
“Dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia and forecasts show that over one million people will be living with dementia by 2058,” she said.
“Pharmacies play an important role in the support network for those living with dementia and their carers, and the Dementia Friendly Pharmacy Program will help pharmacy staff to gain more awareness and understanding of the disease of dementia, and create a supportive environment to assist people with dementia and their carers.”
Fully subsidised resources will be available for pharmacy staff, including self-paced learning modules, a pharmacy-specific dementia friendly checklist, resource kit, promotional pack and advertising support through the Guild.
This exclusive program will be offered to 30 pharmacies only. For more information and to register a pharmacy’s interest in the program by May 31, visit www.guild.org.au/education.
See the June issue of <itals>Retail Pharmacy<itals> magazine for a four-page Aged Care feature focused on dementia friendly pharmacy, including details on how to begin the process of becoming dementia friendly.
