What Is a Healthy Living Pharmacy and What Does It Mean for You?
You've probably seen the Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP) badge in the window at your local Wakefield pharmacy — but what does a healthy living pharmacy actually do for you? The short answer is: it means your pharmacy is structured to do more than fill prescriptions. It means the team is trained and committed to helping you stay well, not just treating you when you're ill. Here's what Healthy Living Pharmacy means in practice.
What Is a Healthy Living Pharmacy?
A Healthy Living Pharmacy is a community pharmacy that has met quality standards specifically focused on health promotion and public health. The programme was originally piloted in Portsmouth and has since expanded nationally. It exists because community pharmacies are one of the most accessible healthcare settings in England — millions of people visit a pharmacy every week — and HLP recognises that trusted, local structure as an opportunity to improve public health outcomes.
To become a Healthy Living Pharmacy, a pharmacy must:
- Employ or train at least one Health Champion — a member of staff with specific training in health promotion and public health
- Actively offer health advice and support to everyone who visits
- Participate in local and national health campaigns
- Maintain consistently high standards of service and care
The idea is simple: your pharmacy isn't just a place to collect your prescription. It's a place where trained staff can spot opportunities to help you live better — whether that's screening for a health condition, offering support to quit smoking, or signposting you to services you might not have known existed.
What Does It Mean for You?
Proactive, Practical Health Advice
When you visit a Healthy Living Pharmacy, the team is trained to look for chances to help — in a way that feels natural and helpful, not pushy. You might pop in for your regular prescription and the pharmacist mentions that a screening service related to your condition is running locally. Or you come in for a cold remedy and the Health Champion asks a few questions about how you're managing overall and suggests some resources that might help.
This isn't about the pharmacy staff diagnosing you or prescribing anything outside their scope. It's about conversations. It's about a team that knows the five public health priorities — smoking, weight, activity, alcohol, and mental wellbeing — and uses those as a lens for everyday interactions.
Participation in Health Campaigns
Healthy Living Pharmacies are active in national campaigns: Stoptober (smoking), Dry January, Blood Pressure Month, and others. You'll see leaflets, posters, and displays in the pharmacy. More importantly, when you ask the team about a campaign, they know what they're talking about. They've had the training to back it up.
A Wider Range of Services
While services vary by pharmacy, HLPs are more likely to offer health support beyond prescription dispensing. These commonly include:
- Smoking cessation support — advice and medication to help you quit
- Blood pressure checks — free, quick, no appointment needed
- Weight management advice — practical guidance tailored to your situation
- Flu jabs — for eligible groups, often free on the NHS
- Health screenings — checking for diabetes, high cholesterol, and other conditions
- Support for long-term conditions — helping you manage ongoing health needs alongside your GP
For Wakefield residents, that means when you visit Kingfisher Pharmacy or another HLP in the area, you're not just getting your prescription filled. You're getting access to a broader range of health support in a place that's convenient and local.
Health Champions on Your Team
Every HLP has at least one Health Champion — often someone you'll see when you first walk in. These team members have completed specific training in health promotion and are there to start conversations, answer questions, and point you toward resources. Your pharmacy team is more equipped than ever to support you.
Why Does It Matter?
The Healthy Living Pharmacy framework isn't about bureaucracy or badges for the sake of it. It's based on a simple truth: community pharmacies are visited by millions of people every single week. That's an enormous opportunity to promote better health.
Your GP's surgery might see you once or twice a year. A pharmacy is somewhere you might visit monthly or more often. When a pharmacy is proactively trained to help you stay well — not just when you're ill — it changes the conversation. It makes your local pharmacy a place where public health actually happens, not somewhere you go only when something's gone wrong.
For people living in Wakefield, it means your local pharmacy is doing more to support you and your community's wellbeing. The staff have the training, the framework, and the commitment to help.
The Five Public Health Priorities
Healthy Living Pharmacies focus on five key areas of public health:
- Smoking — supporting people to quit smoking and reducing smoking-related harm
- Healthy weight — practical advice to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight
- Physical activity — encouraging movement and activity as part of everyday life
- Alcohol — raising awareness of alcohol-related risks and sensible drinking
- Mental wellbeing — supporting emotional health and mental health awareness
These five priorities shape the campaigns, services, and advice you'll encounter at an HLP. If you notice a lot of materials about one of these topics, now you know why — it's part of the HLP framework.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between a Healthy Living Pharmacy and a regular pharmacy?
All community pharmacies offer excellent care and support. The HLP designation means the pharmacy has met specific quality standards around health promotion and public health, has trained at least one Health Champion on staff, and actively participates in health campaigns and wider health services. It's a structured commitment to helping people stay well.
Do I have to use a Healthy Living Pharmacy?
No. You can use any pharmacy you prefer. But if health promotion and wider services are important to you, looking for an HLP accreditation is a good way to know that those services are available and prioritised.
Do Healthy Living Pharmacies cost more?
No. Services like NHS prescriptions, flu jabs (if you're eligible), and health advice cost the same whether your pharmacy is accredited as an HLP or not. The HLP badge doesn't affect pricing.
What if my pharmacy isn't an HLP?
That doesn't mean you're not getting good care. Many community pharmacies provide excellent health advice and services without the formal accreditation. If you'd like your pharmacy to pursue HLP status, you can ask the team directly.
Can the pharmacy diagnose me?
No. Pharmacists can't diagnose conditions, but they can offer advice, ask screening questions, and signpost you to services or your GP if needed. If you have symptoms that concern you, the pharmacy team will advise you to speak to your GP.
How do I find a Healthy Living Pharmacy near me?
You can search for HLP accredited pharmacies on the Centre for Pharmacy Education website, or simply ask your local pharmacy whether they're accredited. You can also look for the NHS Health Check screening service, which is offered at accredited HLPs across the country.
What health campaigns is your pharmacy involved in?
Most HLPs participate in national campaigns like Stoptober, Dry January, and Blood Pressure Awareness Month. Ask your pharmacy team — they'll tell you what's running and how they can help.
What It Means for You, Right Now
A Healthy Living Pharmacy means your community pharmacy is taking on a bigger role in your wellbeing — not just when you're ill, but as part of how you stay well. It means trained staff, campaigns that matter, and services that fit into your life.
For people in Wakefield, it means places like Kingfisher Pharmacy are actively investing in the health of the community. If you'd like to know more about any of the services mentioned here, come in and speak to us. We're on Kirkgate in the city centre, and we're always happy to help with your health and wellbeing. You can call us on 01924 291898 if you'd like to ask anything in advance.