Towards improving service delivery in screening and intervention services in community pharmacies: A case study of an alcohol IBA service

Background Previous studies have demonstrated positive outcomes from a range of pharmacy public health services, but barriers to delivery remain. This paper explores the processes of delivering an alcohol screening and intervention service, with a view to improving service delivery. Methods A mixed methods, multi-perspective approach was used, comprising: inpharmacy observations and recording of service provision; follow-up interviews with service users; and interactive feedback sessions with service providers. Results Observations and recordings indicate that staff missed opportunities to offer the service and that both availability and delivery of the service were inconsistent, partly owing to unavailability of trained staff and service restrictions. Most service users gave positive accounts of the service and considered pharmacies to be appropriate places for this service. Respondents also described positive impacts, ranging from thinking more about alcohol consumption generally, to substantial reductions in consumption. Key facilitators to service provision included building staff confidence and service champions. Barriers included commissioning issues and staff perception of alcohol as a sensitive topic. Conclusions Findings support expansion of pharmacies’ role in delivering public health services, and highlight benefits of providing feedback to pharmacy staff on their service provision as a possible avenue for service improvement.