HLP guidance and resources
Published on: 4th November 2020 | Updated on: 17th October 2023
This page contains a range of resources to help pharmacy owners and their teams to achieve or maintain Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP) status.
Community Pharmacy England resources
Community Pharmacy England Briefing 042/20: How to become a Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP) and maintain that status (updated November 2020) – this sets out the requirements that pharmacies must meet to achieve HLP status or maintain their HLP status. Pharmacy teams must be able to provide evidence of their behaviours and activities as well as the physical environment.
A flow chart detailing the process to follow to achieve HLP status or maintain HLP status is available below:
Below is a checklist of the requirements which pharmacy teams need to achieve to gain HLP status. The checklist can also be used to review ongoing compliance with the Terms of Service requirements to maintain HLP status :
The following HLP Evidence Portfolio Workbook can be used to guide pharmacy teams through the HLP requirements and assist them with recording their evidence to show they have met them.
HLP Evidence Portfolio Workbook (Word)
HLP Evidence Portfolio Workbook (PDF)
Click on a heading below for more resources.
Holding a health promotion event/campaign
Holding health promotion events/campaigns and documenting details of these are a way for pharmacy teams to demonstrate that they meet several of the quality criteria that pharmacy teams need to meet to achieve and maintain HLP status.
To assist pharmacy teams when planning a health promotion event/campaign, a suggested checklist can be found below:
Checklist for holding a health promotion event campaign (Word)
Checklist for holding a health promotion event campaign (PDF)
Pharmacy teams may wish to use a questionnaire to help them evaluate their health promotion event/campaign and to make improvements to future events/campaigns. A template questionnaire can be found below:
Event campaign questionnaire (Word)
Event campaign questionnaire (PDF)
Health promotion ideas
Our health promotion ideas for pharmacy teams hub page contains links to different topics which pharmacy teams can use as a focus for their HLP Health Promotion Zone or they can be used in other health promotion work within and outside the pharmacy depending on the needs of the local community.
Everyday Interactions (RSPH and PHE) a toolkit which can help healthcare professionals record and measure their impact on public health. This toolkit can be used by pharmacy team members to record and collate their interactions with patients and add to the pharmacy’s portfolio of evidence of meeting HLP standards.
The toolkit contains impact pathways relating to different public health topics such as obesity, alcohol consumption, smoking and sexual health. RSPH and PHE have also created a short e-learning resource to support you to use the toolkit.
e-Learning for Healthcare: Making Every Contact Count e-learning – A web-based learning resource for frontline staff. It has been developed by Health Education England’s local team in the West Midlands in collaboration with Public Health England West Midlands. The e-learning is available using the above link without the need to register. Pharmacy owners who would like to evidence training can register team members with the e-Learning for Healthcare website and enrol on the course.
The role of the Health Champion – This document provides more information on the role of the Health Champion, who can become a Health Champion and the training available.
Pharmacy staff that wish to become a Health Champion have to have undertaken the RSPH Level 2 Award in Understanding Health Improvement.
PHE publishes a quarterly e-newsletter to provide updates on national HLP development and share innovative practice from across the country. To sign up to receive future quarterly issues, please email hlpnewsletter@phe.gov.uk.
There are several organisations that provide HLP training for pharmacy staff and those that Community Pharmacy England has been made aware of are listed below for information (listing on this website does not constitute an endorsement of the course or provider by Community Pharmacy England):
Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education
Royal Society for Public Health
A PowerPoint presentation for LPCs on HLPs can be used by LPCs/community pharmacists as the basis for a presentation on the HLP concept to:
- local patient groups;
- local government officers and councillors;
- CCGs; and
- other groups that have an interest in community pharmacy.
The why, the how and the what – This document provides more information on HLPs.
Information for CCGs and General Practices – Further information on HLPs aimed specifically at Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and General Practices.
Information for LAs – Further information on HLPs aimed specifically at local authorities.
The Professional Standards for Public Health Practice for Pharmacy provide a framework to help pharmacy teams, commissioners and those contracting services to design, implement, deliver and monitor high-quality public health practice through pharmacy.
