They will be visible and accessible to local people through living and working in the communities they serve, providing support from next door.”

In the 2005 publication Choosing Health through Pharmacy it was suggested that pharmacy staff could obtain health trainer status so pharmacies could be used as a setting for local people to have access to a health trainer in a community environment.

In September 2005, 12 early adopter sites in disadvantaged areas were chosen to pilot the scheme. They were each given a set of core competencies and job descriptions set by the Department of Health Skills for Health but each site developed its own course based on these core competencies.

I believe the aim of the scheme is that the health trainers should be local people with a knowledge of the communities’ problems and needs – someone who can be a neighbour, listen to people and help them identify for themselves the parts of their lifestyle they need to change to improve their health and wellbeing. In addition, the trainers are known to the community by both living and working there – someone people can identify with and who knows about local services.

The pharmacy company for whom I work, Rowlands Pharmacy, became aware that North East Derbyshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) was to pilot health trainers in the area and was interested in developing this role in pharmacies. Our pharmacy is within this area and, as it was involved in the Bolsover Wellness Project – one of the local projects to which health trainers were to be attached – a job description was sent to our pharmacy.

I had been working in the pharmacy as shop senior for eight years so decided this would be a challenge and a natural progression from my current role. I was already an NHS Smoking Cessation Adviser and enjoyed talking to customers and assisting them with their health problems and concerns within limited time constraints. I believed this new role would give me more time to help customers with their needs and expand on this line of work.

I also met the criteria in the job description as I had lived in Bolsover all my life, my grandfathers had been miners and my father had worked in the local chemical industry. All these industries have now gone, leaving many health problems behind as well as long-term unemployment for many people. I had worked in the community for several years and was aware of the problems faced by young and old alike, and so with the support of my employers I applied for the position and was lucky enough to be successful.

The Derbyshire health trainer programme involved 16 health trainers based at five different, already established projects. Two colleagues and I were to be based at the Bolsover Wellness referral scheme so I began working 15 hours per week for the North East Derbyshire PCT. The course, developed by Sheffield Hallam University, started in December 2005 with all 16 health trainers together two days per week in a classroom setting.

I found it difficult at first, having had no formal education for about 30 years. We had to explore our own way of learning and learn self-development, how to motivate people and support and encourage behaviour change. We had presentations from health professionals on mental health, alcohol, sexual health and weight management.

As this was a pilot scheme it was sometimes very challenging because items in the portfolio often changed and the course developed as we went along. We were also given a project to complete on the subject of our local community, to familiarise ourselves with local health issues and current health statistics, and to assist us with the knowledge of how health trainers would fit in to the communities. This had to be completed at home and, as I work full time, Sundays became ‘project’ day!

In January 2006, after seven days in the classroom, we began work on our separate projects in which we were to be supervised by project leaders. We also attended additional training days in the classroom and sessions in other subjects such as first aid. As this was a pilot scheme and was continually being evaluated, the training had to be finished and all work submitted by April 2006.

This meant it was a steep learning curve to conquer in little time. However it was extremely challenging and I left the course with a feeling of achievement at the end.

After qualifying, in May 2006 the work started in earnest. I began working one and a half days at the project location with a morning in the pharmacy as a health trainer. The remainder of my working week I was employed as before. The Bolsover Wellness scheme is a GP referral scheme run by Bolsover District Council and the PCT. It was established in 2004, funded by regeneration monies, and is now partially funded by the North East Derbyshire PCT. It is based in Creswell Leisure Centre with other venues in Shirebrook and Bolsover. It aims to improve people’s level of physical activity, to help reduce the risks of strokes, chronic heart disease, diabetes and obesity and to improve the health of people with other physical and mental disabilities. It is a very successful scheme with over 1,000 referrals since it began.

My role as a health trainer in the scheme is to help and reassure people in their referral gym sessions, talk with the clients about their health and exercise needs, help the clients feel welcome and comfortable and assist with their barriers to health and exercise. This means there is always someone they know and trust, boosting their confidence to help them to continue with the exercise programme either alone or with the new friends they meet. I feel the role of the health trainer in this setting has been a success.

In the pharmacy, my services have been advertised using posters and leaflets inserted into prescription bags. The people I see on the project can also access my services in the pharmacy to help with issues such as smoking cessation. I have built up a directory of services so I signpost clients appropriately and, as I build up the client base in the pharmacy and people become aware of the services we offer, this in turn should increase the amount of time I spend in the pharmacy.

My training was funded by the North East Derbyshire PCT and, with the support of Rowlands Pharmacy, I was seconded to them for 15 hours per week.

Since 1 July 2006 I am paid solely by Rowlands Pharmacy who, with a lot of hard work on both sides, developed a service level agreement with North East Derbyshire PCT so the pharmacy invoices it for the hours I work for the PCT. I have a two-year contract with the PCT and hopefully the funding will continue after that.

My work in the pharmacy has changed considerably as my time is now divided by my role as a health trainer and the general pharmacy work. I gained more confidence in my abilities to learn new skills and this has encouraged me to embark on a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Dispensing. My training as a health trainer has helped in talking to and advising customers in a different way. On my health trainer day I can spend more time with the customers and my work is a lot more varied than it used to be.

In the future there may be plans to extend the scheme to other pharmacies. I believe that pharmacy assistants should consider becoming health trainers as it is a good extension of their current role and fits well into the modern community pharmacy, helping pharmacies become more a part of their local community.