CarePlus Pharmacy Chat Magazine

DISCOVER

INSIDE: Proudly Sponsoring

How to be

Sun Smart

Campaign Launch

Supercharge Your Immunity Campaign

Spring has proven to be a very productive and busy season for CarePlus, with our sponsorship of The Answers for Cancers podcast, partnership with the Irish Heart Foundation in February, our latest Supercharge your Immunity Campaign, and who could forget the amazing initiative – kickstarted by Lidl – to become part of the movement towards ending period poverty in Ireland.

We would like to thank you all for participating in sharing social media content for these campaigns, it has made a huge impact in driving traffic to our website and, in turn, more traffic to your stores.

We are absolutely delighted to be working with Michelle Matthews and Anne-Marie Fay from The Answers for Cancers podcast. They are doing amazing work for cancer patients and survivors. We are very proud as a Pharmacy group to help support such wonderful women, making waves in the cancer community.

back to our Spring edition of CHAT magazine!

We are delighted to unveil our new look.

This season we’ve seen three new CarePlus Pharmacies open, sadly without Grand Opening celebrations. As lockdown restrictions lift, soon we will be able to celebrate the openings of Goode’s, Cox’s and Loughrea CarePlus Pharmacies.

Their wonderful teams deserve a day of celebration.

As we meet up with family and friends again - albeit outdoors - it brings back some semblance of normality.

This means more people will be outside in the summer sunshine.

As the weather heats up, so does the risk of sun damage and sunburn. In this issue we have an article on recognising signs of skin cancer in patients who may present in the Pharmacy with worries and what signs and symptoms to look out for.

It is important to encourage your customers to practice good sun protection, as the rate of skin cancer in Ireland is growing.

Over the summer months we will be posting regularly about skincare in the sun and the importance of SPF and we encourage you all to reshare.

We hope you are all doing well and are enjoying the random bursts of sunshine – fingers cross the sun sticks around this summer. As always, thank you for all your hard work and we at the Support Office are here to help you with anything you may need.

Chat soon,

Emily Harney Emily Harney, Marketing Executive

Clodagh Maguire

Business Development Manager We would like to welcome Clodagh Maguire to the Support Office team. Clodagh comes from Donegal and has 24 years of experience in pharmaceutical wholesale sales. She has previously worked with both Cahill May Roberts and Uniphar. Clodagh will be working with our Sales team alongside Philip and Karen.

We wish her all the best in her new role.

We are delighted to welcome Clodagh to the Support Office.

“The stars aligned for us on this project”, Eoghan says, “We had been considering opening a second, traditional-style Pharmacy, but when CarePlus Pharmacy began rolling out the digital format and a site with a smaller footprint became available, it was the perfect solution”.

“I had been keeping an eye on the evolving plans for digital models and I loved the forward-thinking creativity of it. I knew a couple of premises had been converted into these new Pharmacies over the last year so it was exciting to think we could bring the inaugural ‘digital-first’ project to our customers in Loughrea”.

Customers who visit Loughrea CarePlus Pharmacy now find a transformed and revamped environment.

Pharmacy owner Eoghan Hanly has been a member of the CarePlus Pharmacy network since the early days. The Loughrea man was one of the first Pharmacists to join the group, bringing his Pharmacy first established by his grandfather in 1940 - under the CarePlus Pharmacy umbrella.

In February, he marked another major milestone for his family, CarePlus and the retail Pharmacy landscape, when Eoghan’s second outlet, Loughrea CarePlus Pharmacy opened as a fully digital Pharmacy - the first of its kind in Ireland and Europe. Matt Gallagher and Laura O’Connor are the Pharmacists in the new store.

There are no shelves and no baskets cluttering the floor, creating customer bottlenecks.

The layout is bright, airy and open, with staff freed up to engage more with customers, thus enhancing the customer experience.

We are delighted to welcome Loughrea CarePlus Pharmacy to the group, no doubt there will be big excitement for their upcoming grand opening.

Michelle Matthews (left) Anne-Marie Fay (right) Anne-Marie Fay says the CarePlus Pharmacy values align with their hopes for the podcast: “As medical professionals, we recognise the important role of community Pharmacists and the expertise they offer as part of the team that cares for cancer patients. With this in mind, it makes absolute sense to collaborate with them”.

THE ANSWERS FOR CANCERS

CarePlus Pharmacy are now the proud sponsors of The Answers for Cancers podcast. The show explores what it means to have cancer in a language everyone can understand, and is hosted by oncology nurses Anne-Marie Fay and Michelle Matthews, who are based at the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin.

As CarePlus Pharmacy is Ireland’s leading community Pharmacy brand, we saw a huge opportunity to empower people in communities across Ireland to lead healthier, happier lives.

Topics discussed with guest medical experts on The Answers for Cancers podcast to date include various types of therapy and cancer, as well as related topics like mental health, fatigue, hair loss, fertility and grief.

Michelle Matthews believes that the sponsorship will help to bring the advice to a greater audience: “In its first couple of months, The Answers for Cancers podcast has very quickly struck a chord with listeners and the feedback after each of our interviews has been so encouraging. Having CarePlus Pharmacy on our side will help spread the word and support more people receiving a cancer diagnosis, particularly in the current environment when leaning on others is so much more difficult”.

Our Director of Marketing, Lee-Ann Hyland, says she is delighted to be working with the podcasting duo:

“Our Pharmacies support cancer patients and their families every day across the country. When we heard about The Answers for Cancers podcast, we knew immediately it would benefit so many people and we wanted an active role in boosting the project.

We’re really excited to be working with Michelle and Anne-Marie and looking forward to each new episode”.

You can listen and subscribe to The Answers for Cancers podcast on all major podcast hosting platforms.

As the Irish population continues to age, the incidence of cancer is on the rise. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Ireland with over 13,000 cases in the country in 2020. 1,197 of these were melanoma – the most serious form of skin cancer.

The National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI) expects this number to rise to 18,989 by 2040. Ireland ranks 14th in the global table of skin cancer susceptibility, and records, on average, 859 melanoma-related diseases per year.

The SunSmart Code initially began in Victoria, Australia in the early 1980s. This part of Australia has seen a fall in the incidence of skin cancer, and this has been directly linked to the introduction of the SunSmart programme.

We should all be smart in the sun all year round, but specifically between the 1st of March and the 30th of September every year, both in Ireland and abroad.

Early Detection

Risk factors

If spotted early, up to 90% of cases are curable. In the case of melanoma skin cancer, spotting it early can save your life.

The good news (if you can call it that) about skin cancer is that we know the cause and that it is preventable. The main risk factors for developing skin cancer include:

Early detection is vital.

Be Sun Smart:

Tips for minding your skin in the sun

For this reason, it is important to get to know your skin, check it every month for changes and speak to your doctor if you are worried.

Early screening and treatment have allowed for improved detection of cancer and thus improved patient outcomes.

History of severe sunburn Intense intermittent exposure to the sun at an early age Lighter skin colour Family/personal history of skin cancer Skin that burns, freckles or reddens easily in the sun

Symptoms •

Patients may present with complaints on moles of skin lesions that have changed in size, shape or colour

•

Some may experience discomfort at the site, bleeding or notice that a lesion does not heal

•

Basal cell carcinoma (the least dangerous of skin cancers) can present as waxy, translucent or pearly

•

Squamous cell carcinoma (SC cancer) often presents as a hardened, nodular tumour that may or may not show signs of keratinization. In this case, Pharmacists should refer the patient to their GP or a dermatologist for further examination

Prevention

9 out of every 10 cases are caused by UV rays from the sun or sunbeds.

Over exposure to UV rays, which leads to tanning, redness or burning of the skin, causes damage to skin cells. While much of this damage is repaired, some remains and can lead to skin cancer later in life.

Reduce UV radiation exposure by practicing sun protection habits:

1.

Limit the amount of time you spend in the sun between 1-3pm.

This is when the sun’s rays are most intense.

The ABCDE approach

2.

Remember the closer your holiday location is to the equator, the more exposed you are to UVA & UVB rays, causing sun damage and sunburn.

It is useful to assess any pigmented lesions that patients may present with using this approach:

3.

Clothes are the best form of sun protection – dark clothing provides better protection than white, loose clothing.

4.

Wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses with 100% UV absorption.

5.

Wear sunscreen every day – even if it’s cloudy.

6.

Choose a broad spectrum sunscreen that has UVA & UVB protection (minimum SPF 30).

order irregularity

7.

Apply sunscreen to dry skin 20 minutes before going outside.

Reapply every two hours regardless of the instruction on the packaging.

olour

8.

Use a lip balm with SPF 30 in it.

9.

Be mindful when around water and sand as these surfaces reflect sunlight and can cause extra sun damage to the skin.

A B C D E

symmetry

(3+ colours or 1 colour that is different from the rest)

iameter

greater than 6mm

volution

persistent growth of a new or pigmented lesion

UV exposure not only increases the risk of skin cancer but also accelerates the skin’s aging. As Pharmacists, you are in a prime position to help educate your customers on the importance of minimising exposure to UV rays to decrease their risk of developing skin cancer.

Homeless Period Ireland originated in December 2016 with the goal of providing homeless individuals with hygiene products every month.

PERIOD POVERTY In a bid to help eradicate period poverty in Ireland, we decided to follow in Lidl’s footsteps and begin our own initiative to provide free period products to CarePlus Pharmacy customers.

Those in need of period products simply fill out a form on the CarePlus Pharmacy website and obtain the complimentary products in-store.

Lidl inspired us to run this campaign, we saw how powerful their message was and it made us realise how many women and young girls struggle to obtain basic hygiene products in Ireland, often due to cost.

A recent study from Plan International found that almost half of young girls struggle to pay for pads and tampons. This is the harsh reality for many young girls and women around Ireland.

From all of us at the Support Office we would like to thank you for getting behind us on this campaign and for sharing our period programme social media content.

We hope this programme makes a difference to young girls and women struggling to afford period products in your communities.

Claire Hunt at Homeless Period Ireland was also a huge inspiration, she has been working for years to support women and young girls who may not have access to essential period products that they need, restoring their dignity and ensuring that they are not subjected to using unsuitable or unsafe materials as a substitute, or nothing at all.

This initative was highlighted by some of the most Influential publications in Ireland:

We want customers to gain knowledge on vitamins and supplements they may need to add into their day to day routines.

The

7

PILLARS OF IMMUNITY

Our Supercharge Your Immunity campaign launched in May. It is a 3-month campaign based around the idea of helping your customers boost their immunity.

COVID-19 has made everyone conscious of their immune system and eager to find ways to boost it.

We hope to encourage customers to improve their overall wellbeing & immunity through education.

This campaign allows us to emphasise the importance of caring for your immune system and being your healthiest self.

We hope you love the Supercharge Your Immunity artwork as much as we do. The social media content for this campaign can be found on the Knowledge Hub in the social media share folder.

We would like to encourage you to share this content and promote your Immunity Superstar products as this will hopefully encourage customers to pop in and ask about vitamins and supplements for them.

The 7 Pillars of Immunity

1.

2.

Eat Well Keep Moving

3. Hydrate

4.

Stress Less

5.

Sleep Soundly

6.

Take your Vitamins

7.

Super Supplements

All

Community

Chit

Staff Engagement

Loughrea CarePlus Pharmacy

3. Congratulations to Conaty’s CarePlus Pharmacy, who celebrated the Pharmacy’s first birthday in April.

love teaching new customers how to use their interactive TV screens.

1. Ardfinnan CarePlus Pharmacy celebrated their Pharmacy’s first birthday. Congratulations to Gerry and the team.

2. This May, Nigel and the Carrigaline CarePlus Pharmacy team spent a week vaccinating the homeless in Cork city. Well done Nigel and his team.

5. Little Island CarePlus Pharmacy purchased a new Kirsch Med-340 fridge in preparation for a possible Pharmacy vaccine roll out.

4. Headford CarePlus Pharmacy are proud sponsors of the Headford Ladies GAA team. They generously donated six first aid kits to the team.

Liz from Carrigaline CarePlus Pharmacy completed her first year of the IPU Pharmacy Technican course.

Well done, Liz!

It s all

Birthday Wishes

Competitions

6.

1.

2.

3.

4.

4.

5.

6.

7.

6. Maynooth CarePlus Pharmacy celebrated Kelly’s 40th birthday in March.

1-5: Cootehill CarePlus Pharmacy celebrated the birthdays of five of their team members - Barry, Lisa, Margaret, Shauna and Sinead.

Happy Birthday from us!

7. Barbara from Keane’s CarePlus Pharmacy, PCC celebrated her birthday in April.

1. Ardfinnan CarePlus Pharmacy gave away a fabulous Avene hamper to celebrate their first birthday. 2. Conaty’s CarePlus Pharmacy, Dunboyne presented Amy Lee Bennett with a lovely Nivea hamper. 3. Keane’s CarePlus Pharmacy, Enfield gave away a gorgeous Kinvara hamper, winner Nicola Purcell was delighted! 4. Coghlan’s CarePlus Pharmacy gave away a luxurious Nivea and Garnier hamper. 5. Conaty’s CarePlus Pharmacy, Dunboyne held a very successful colouring competition for the kids of Dunboyne. 6. Susan Kane was delighted to be presented with a gorgeous Elave and Ovelle hamper by Conefrey’s CarePlus Pharmacy. 7. Sandra Byrne was delighted to win Conefrey’s CarePlus Pharmacy’s Uriage giveaway. 8. Woods CarePlus Pharmacy presented colouring competition winner Ruby with a voucher for the Pharmacy.

To celebrate the brand new look and feel of our Chat magazine, we have decided to host a competition to give one of you a chance

for growing your 5 Top Tips for Growing your Social Media Following Social Media

TO WIN A ONE4ALL VOUCHER WORTH €250.

As you know, we are launching a campaign promoting the BabyClub starting in June. To win, all you need to do is encourage customers to sign up to the BabyClub via the CarePlus website.

We will be tracking the number of customers signing up to each Pharmacy and the Pharmacy with the largest amount of sign ups over the month of June will be the winner.

Post Interesting Content

Post content that is informative & interesting to your audience, such as articles from the CarePlus website. These articles are well researched & can be intriguing to your audience.

New articles are posted on the website regularly for you to share.

These can also be shared from the CarePlus Pharmacy Facebook page.

Invite users to Like your Page

When someone interacts with your Facebook post, you have the option to invite them to ‘Like’ your page and see more of your content. The people you’re inviting to like your page have already interacted with you, so the quicker you send the invite the better your chances of success. Don’t delay when someone shows interest in what you’re sharing.

A good portion of your invites will accept and become active followers of your Facebook.

Boost a Post

When posting on Facebook or Instagram, if you feel that a post will do well and get good engagement (likes, shares, new followers), then it is worth boosting it to increase the engagement and interaction with your page even more. If you need more details on how to boost a post, please see our CarePlus social media manual or our social media training videos on the Knowledge Hub.

Run a Competition

Running a competition can do wonders for your Facebook & Instagram, especially if you boost your post to an audience outside of your existing followers. As part of the competition guidelines, ask people to follow your page and share the post on their own page or tag a friend. This can help you reach Facebook users that would otherwise not know about your page.

Cross-promote on your other platforms

If you have a LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter following, make sure you have regular posts letting followers know that you post on your other platforms too.

The winner will be announced on July 1st.

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