A SERVICE designed to meet the health needs of young people on the Island received recognition at the prestigious 2009 NHS Alliance Acorn Awards.
Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n’ Roll came second in the pharmaceutical services commissioning category, which is new this year, to showcase excelling primary care trusts.
Kevin Noble, community pharmacy lead for the Island’s NHS, said: "It is a real honour to receive such a prestigious national award and it is fantastic the excellent service pharmacists continue to provide on the Island has been recognised."
Community pharmacists work alongside the Island’s NHS sexual health services and Island Drug and Alcohol Service (IDAS) in offering a range of services for people between the ages of 15 and 25, which are confidential and easily accessible.
The entry Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N’ Roll highlights the services that pharmacists across the Island, in collaboration with sexual health services and IDAS, offer to patients wishing to access emergency contraception, chlamydia screening, counselling and treatment and, more recently, hepatitis B and C dry blood spot testing to at-risk patients.
Injecting drug users, who are identified as significantly at risk of contracting hepatitis B, have also been offered vaccinations to protect against infection, as part of the integrated service.
Reporter: suep@iwcpmail.co.uk