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Infection prevention and enhancing antimicrobial stewardship in Zambia Subscription
Established in 2014, the Brighton–Lusaka Pharmacy Link (BLPL) connects Zambian pharmacists from the University Teaching Hospitals (UTH) and the University of Zambia with British pharmacists from Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust (BSUH), the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex. Together, the group reviews common interests, identifies system gaps in both England or Zambia, and develops joint educational goals — most recently focusing on antimicrobial stewardship ..
Why is The Pharmaceutical Journal receiving so few letters?Subscription
I write as a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) since 1968. At that time, and for many years after, The Pharmaceutical Journal was a vibrant, interesting and informative publication, well suited to the needs of the membership, including community pharmacists. It has been said that the health of a professional publication can be measured by the letters to the editor, and debate that the content leads to. This Journal used to excel; but not now.
Community pharmacy has a big role in managing the conditions that double as risk factors for pandemic diseases
Open access article
Real respect for patients is having respect for their morals, despite your ownSubscription
I was very pleased to see the article ‘Refusing to supply emergency hormonal contraception undermines our profession — no pharmacist should do it’, by Cathy Cooke in the March 2020 issue of The Pharmaceutical ...
Pharmacy's part in COVID-19 response must be recognised
Open access article
We need long-term changes to tackle COVID-19 and future pandemics
Open access article
Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in compliance with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelineSubscription
Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a serious adverse effect of cancer therapy. It is observed to different degrees depending on the cytotoxic agent(s) administered. At the American Hospital in Istanbul, the most up-to-date antiemesis guideline by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is followed as there are no alternative local guidelines on CINV
Could chloroquine be effective against COVID-19?
Open access article
Could currently used vaccines protect against COVID-19?Subscription
Data published earlier in 2020 suggest that children are at lower risk of experiencing severe symptoms and mortality from COVID-19, as well as suggesting that risk seems to increase with age[1],
Tackling antimicrobial resistance in cancer patients at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust Subscription
Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) infections are estimated to cause 700,000 deaths each year globally, and this figure is predicted to rise to 10 million with a cumulative cost of US$100tn by 2050
Applications open for chief pharmaceutical officer's clinical fellow scheme 2020/2021Subscription
Applications for the chief pharmaceutical officer’s clinical fellow scheme 2020/2021 are now open, and UK pharmacists are encouraged to consider this unique opportunity to expand their professional skills.
Teaching cross-sector medicines optimisation to primary care pharmacists from a patient’s perspective Subscription
Medicines optimisation is about achieving the best possible outcomes for patients through the safe and effective use of medicines[1]. Working in general practice requires ...
Misconception of pharmacist role could hinder its futureSubscription
On 12 January 2020, Matt Hancock, the health and social care secretary, wrote on Twitter: NEWS: We’re introducing Pharmacy First — so like in other countries your pharmacist can do far more to help with minor ailments.Good for patients — good for the NHS https://t.co/96z8UiK12G — Matt Hancock (@MattHancock), 12 ...
Stressed, self-checking pharmacists must be bold and temporarily close their pharmaciesSubscription
In November 2019, The Pharmaceutical Journal wrote that “almost half of community pharmacists admit to self-checking their own dispensing” (Pharm J 2019;303[7931]:294). This dismayed me.
A handheld treatment record for patients receiving chemotherapySubscription
Pharmacists recognise how important it is to ensure an accurate and current medication history for patients before commencing therapies or making recommendations on how to manage conditions. This is arguably even more important for people with cancer who are undergoing systemic anticancer therapy (SACT) — a group for whom this already challenging as access to specialist medical records is often limited, and the patient’s medicine can frequently change. In addition, the narrow therapeutic ...
I do not want to lose my community pharmacist to the central dispensing modelSubscription
It is an uncertain time in pharmacy, although it has not always been this way. However, to an outsider, some pharmacists seem to be precipitating their own demise.
Pharmacist-led service for improving cardiometabolic risk and metabolic syndrome for people with severe mental illnessSubscription
Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI), such as schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder, have a higher risk of physical illness than those without SMI[1]. These physical illnesses exist within the general population, but the incidence and impact on morbidity and mortality in those with SMI is significantly ...
The community pharmacy referral scheme is a new way to make the most of pharmacists' skillsSubscription
In response to the editorial ‘Community pharmacy referral scheme is not a new concept’ — which suggested that the NHS community pharmacist consultation service (CPCS) is ‘recycled’ from previous minor ailment schemes — it may be helpful to clarify what the service offers ...
When voodoo and cocktails were the mainstays of New Orleans pharmacySubscription
The museum treasure in the December 2019 issue of The Pharmaceutical Journal — Lydia Pinkham’s ‘vegetable compound’ — and The Scaffolds’ 1960s song ‘Lily the Pink’ reminds me of my visit to the excellent and interesting New Orleans Pharmacy Museum on the site of the original apothecary of the first licensed pharmacist in the United ...
Regulator committed to breaking down the profession's barriers to those with disabilitiesSubscription
I was very sorry to read about the author’s experiences in their blog ‘How the pharmacy profession disregarded me and my disability and why it must change’. The author, who wished to remain anonymous, should not have had to face these barriers during ...
My fitness-to-practise treatment was nerve-wracking but fairSubscription
In her blog, ‘My horrific encounter with ‘fitness to practise’’, pharmacist Sarah Seddon shares the harrowing experience she had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and she was only a witness in the case.
Developing sustainable regional networks for pharmacy research: The Great North Pharmacy Research CollaborativeSubscription
To help grow and support pharmacy research activity, in 2016, a group of pharmacists from Durham University received institutional funding to develop a local postgraduate pharmacy research conference. The conference aimed to give postgraduate pharmacists an opportunity to showcase projects they had worked on since graduation, which included research conducted as part of doctoral or Master’s degree studies, audits, service evaluations, quality improvement projects and other work conducted ...
Pharmacists can help patients get the most out of their vitamin D supplementsSubscription
I was delighted to read Lisa Jamieson’s opinion piece ‘‘It’s not just medicines that ...
It's nothing new that diet and nutrition influence healthSubscription
I wholeheartedly support the view expressed by Lisa Jamieson in her article: ‘It’s not just medicines that improve health — pharmacists need a better understanding of nutrition’. If sound and intelligent advice was routinely ...
Antimicrobials in hospital — a development in advanced e-prescribing analyticsSubscription
Rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a recognised threat to global health. There is a perception that poor prescribing practices contribute to the problem, although data confirming this are limited. Reliable data on the quality of antimicrobial prescribing in UK hospitals are not available, with hospital drug-purchasing data most often being used ...
Community pharmacy careers are not inferior to those in other sectorsSubscription
I read Ankit Thapar’s response to ‘Those “timid about inclusion” will not succeed, delegates hear at RPS’s first BAME event’ with interest.
Developing a co-produced e-learning programme to support marginalised medically underserved patients Subscription
There have been recent calls for the NHS to pursue a value-based healthcare system, one that is “equitable, sustainable and transparent”[1]. However, promoting a culture based on the values of patient-centred care can be challenging. One notable example in pharmacy ...
The government must ease and encourage medical cannabis researchSubscription
It’s been over a year since the rules were changed to allow clinicians to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) but very little has changed.
Individualised approach to care reduces overtreatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in frail older people Subscription
Intensive treatment with insulin and sulfonylureas in older people with low HbA1c (<53mmol/mol) can increase the risk of hypoglycaemia, morbidity and mortality. Older people are less likely to benefit from the long-term protective effects of good glycaemic control and are at risk of inappropriate polypharmacy owing to co-morbidities.
Community pharmacies will not lose out in the new contractSubscription
I write regarding Hemant Patel’s article ‘For community pharmacists, the new contract does not add up’, published in The Pharmaceutical Journal on 27 September 2019. I need to correct some inaccuracies in Patel’s narrative on the new community pharmacy contractual framework.
Wales' principles to support people to take their medicines in their homesSubscription
The All Wales Heads of Adults’ Services (AWASH) Group and NHS Wales, in collaboration with their partner organisations, have launched a set of high-level principles to encourage better medicines support for people who are receiving care at home.
Trust-wide microbiology electronic referral system supports antimicrobial stewardship Subscription
Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) can be defined as the approach to promoting and monitoring judicious use of antimicrobials to preserve their future effectiveness. With demands on microbiological clinical services at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals increasing over recent years, requests for clinical advice could no longer be facilitated by a direct telephone call from clinical teams to the pathology team. Paper referral forms used by pharmacists for AMS review were no longer ...
Highlighting shoulder injury related to vaccine administrationSubscription
I would like to highlight an important, though rarely discussed or reported, issue: shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA). I implore any pharmacists who offer travel or flu vaccinations to take note.
Marking the first World Patient Safety DaySubscription
Patient safety is a global challenge and, in May 2019, the 72nd World Health Assembly — through which World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its member states — agreed that a World Patient Safety Day would be commemorated annually each year on 17 September, commencing in 2019.
Reviewing the safe and appropriate prescribing of antipsychotic depotsSubscription
Antipsychotic medicine is prescribed to treat many mental health conditions, alleviate suffering and improve daily functioning[1].
The new NHS Patient Safety Strategy has a big hole in itSubscription
In August 2018, I expressed my concern in Clinical Pharmacist that the NHS, described as ‘an organisation with a memory’, was losing its patient safety memory and not addressing many important risks effectively[1]. Other reports from the Care Quality Commission
