Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Scotland, together with Marie Curie, hosted an exhibition for MSPs in the Scottish Parliament in September to raise awareness of the Daffodil Standards, and the vital role that community pharmacy has in supporting palliative and end of life care.
Community pharmacies play a hugely important role by advising on medication changes and side effects and being on hand without the need for an appointment, to advise and reassure when families most need support.
The Standards, which were written by RPS and Marie Curie, enable community pharmacies to continuously improve end of life and bereavement support for terminally ill patients, their families and carers. They align with RCGP/Marie Curie standards for general practice, launched in 2019. Since the Standards launched in May this year, over 450 pharmacies across Great Britain have signed up, including over 30 in Scotland.
RPS Scotland and Marie Curie spoke to 45 MSPs in the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament across three days (Tuesday 19 – Thursday 21 September) to raise awareness of the Standards. The exhibition was sponsored by Jeremy Balfour MSP.
Ahead of the exhibition, a Parliamentary Motion was lodged, welcoming the Daffodil Standards. It has been signed from MSPs across parties.
Speaking about the Parliamentary Exhibition, Laura Wilson, Director for Scotland at Royal Pharmaceutical Society said:
“Pharmacy teams across Scotland provide high quality palliative and end of life care every day, making a positive impact on terminally ill patients, their families and carers.
The Daffodil Standards are a hugely important resource which enable pharmacy teams to continually assess their practice to ensure they are delivering the very best palliative and end of life care."