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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
Evaluating the first NHS-funded sore throat test and treat service in the UKSubscription
In Wales, people with a sore throat may be offered advice and symptomatic treatment free of charge in community pharmacies through the common ailment service (CAS). However, antibiotics cannot be supplied and this can limit patients’ perceived value of the service. As a result, some patients continue to seek a GP appointment when they have a sore throat.
Low rates for locum pharmacists are unfairSubscription
I happened to be in Barnet, North London, recently, and I popped into the local pharmacy for a couple things. To my delight, the locum pharmacist on duty there had been a student of mine a few years ago at the UCL School of Pharmacy.
Pharmacy's growing role in travel health vaccinationSubscription
As newly appointed chair of the Pharmacy Professional Group of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM), I represent more than 500 pharmacists who provide specialist travel health and travel medicine services globally. Also, as a member of the leadership council, I also represent the voice of pharmacy and am instrumental in the development of working with other professions. The position was established to characterise the role the pharmacist plays in travel medicine globally ...
Pharmacy Schools Council on the GPhC's conclusions to the pharmacy education consultationSubscription
This letter is in response to the news story ‘GPhC set to confirm it will require universities to offer integrated pharmacy programmes’.
Taking an STP approach to improving the pharmacy workforceSubscription
Developing a sustainable, high quality pharmacy workforce is essential to delivering services in a complex and evolving healthcare environment, particularly as more opportunities arise for pharmacists to take extended roles.
Creating a coaching culture to support staff wellbeing in an NHS trustSubscription
More is being expected of trainee healthcare professionals; clinical educators must enable trainees to feel empowered and encourage them to seek their own solutions, as opposed to professionals telling them what they should do[1].
Specials system in English primary care no longer delivers best care or value for moneySubscription
We are writing in response to the news story ‘Pharmacy negotiators say centralised system for specials procurement could “drive down quality”’ (The Pharmaceutical Journal online, 15 May 2019).
Reducing the impact of asthma treatment on climate change Subscription
In April 2019, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a patient decision aid for inhaler choice in asthma treatment, including comparisons of the devices’ environmental impact as well as usual clinical considerations
Celebrating the class of 1979 Portsmouth pharmacy graduatesSubscription
This year, 2019, marks 40 years since the 1976 intake at the University of Portsmouth School of Pharmacy finished their course and began their preregistration year. If anyone is free to meet up in Portsmouth on 13 July or 14 July 2019, please correspond with Martyn Hudson at stridingedge@ntlworld.com. Martyn Hudson, member, Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Antibiotic pollution and lack of regulation will have dire global consequencesSubscription
Given the hot topic of antimicrobial resistance, one could only be shocked at reading New Scientist’s article ‘How antibiotic resistance is driven by pharmaceutical pollution’ (22 May 2019), which details the prolific dumping of antibiotic ...
Concern over new flushing guidance for small volume intravenous infusionsSubscription
In November 2018, I raised concerns about incomplete and underdosed intravenous (IV) infusions in Clinical Pharmacist[1]. On this occasion, I am writing to raise concern over the National Infusion and Vascular Access Society’s (NIVAS’s) new ...
Pharmacy staff should be aware of drug misusers' methods of extracting opioids from OTC products
Misuse of codeine can cause serious harm. There are restrictions around use of the medicine, but people still find ways to misuse ...
Reunion for the University of Manchester pharmacy class of 1979Subscription
A group of graduates of the University of Manchester pharmacy class of 1979 are planning a reunion weekend to celebrate the 40th anniversary of our graduation and share memories of Manchester; stories of our lives, families, and careers; and plans for retirement.
