Southcity in NSW pilot
January 8, 2024
SOUTHCITY Pharmacy is one of 11 pharmacies across the Murrumbidgee, NSW, participating in the 'Living Well, Your Way' pharmacy screening pilot, a joint initiative of the Murrumbidgee Local Health District and Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network and funded by the NSW Ministry of Health.
The aim of the pilot is to improve care for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) in these communities.
Winner of the Guild's Pharmacy of the Year Award in 2018, Southcity's participation in the LWYW screening pilot is an important opportunity to assist with the early detection, identification and referral of patients suspected to have COPD and CHF, said its managing partner and pharmacist Luke van der Rijt (pictured).
The pilot was developed in consultation with pharmacists and respiratory clinicians and built on the COPD screening commenced in 2018.
"We are running a free screening pilot in 2024 to identify patients in our community who may be at increased risk of heart and lung conditions," said van der Rijt.
"Our region unfortunately has some of the country's highest rates of preventable hospital admissions for these conditions.
"The idea for screening is that we identify people at risk and link them in with their GP for further medical assessment."
Early identification and treatment is key to getting on top of these conditions, he explained.
"Some symptoms we ask our customers to watch out for include waking up overnight with difficulty breathing, coughing several times on most days, using the blue reliever puffer every day or getting swollen ankles or feet often."
Southcity pharmacy customers receive a "simple questionnaire to complete and potentially a micro spirometry test if we feel your lungs are at risk," added van der Rijt. JG
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