The DDA 2015 Elections Rural Practice Manifesto Toolkit
In its Rural Practice Manifesto for the 2015 Elections, the DDA makes four key demands. These demands will give practices:
- access to superfast broadband
- access to the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), which is not currently available for dispensing practices
- district and social services teams based in rural practices, not miles away in the nearest town
- community pharmacists as part of the practice team, helping to manage chronic diseases and medicines optimisation.
Practice staff and your patients can all help us to achieve our aims and deliver an environment for dispensing practice that is fit for the future.
How can I help?
Please download this Template Practice letter and send it to your local MP, MSP and AM, and to prospective local candidates. Email contacts for your local elected representative and Twitter accounts for prospective candidates can be found by clicking the following links:
England
Scotland
Wales
Prospective candidates' Twitter accounts
How can I get my patients involved?
It will really help our Manifesto demands if local representatives also receive letters and emails from their constituents who value the service they receive as patients in your dispensary. Help patients to contact their local representative in the following ways:
- Copy and paste this template article onto your own practice website, to encourage patients to get involved. Don’t forget to fill in the details of your local MP/MSP/AM or prospective candidate and include links to the template patient letter for patients to download at home, and complete and send off.
- Download this template patient letter and print off copies for patients to take away. Don’t forget to fill in as much information and contact details for your local representative as possible. This information is available from the relevant websites above.
- Give a copy to each patient visiting your surgery and/or dispensary and encourage them to fill in their reasons for using your dispensary to support our cause
- Ask patients to complete the letter and post it to their local representative.
