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Found 147 results
  1. News Article
    A Kent man who has had three-quarters of his pancreas removed says he will "fade away" without a medication that there has been a nationwide shortage of since 2024. Paul Elcombe, from Hartley, takes Creon three times a day, after major surgery three years ago left him no longer able to create enough enzymes to break down food. As it stands, he has three and a half weeks worth of tablets left, having only had one prescription filled this year. He said: "You need it to survive, without it [Creon] your body can't break down the food...it's as important as insulin is to a diabetic." The nationwide shortage, which the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) says is a "European-wide" supply issue, has forced the 63-year-old and his wife to spend time travelling to different pharmacies in a bid to get the medication. He said: "I know it sounds dramatic, but without it you will just fade away...it's very scary." Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 June 2025
  2. News Article
    Millions in England can now track NHS prescriptions via the health service’s dedicated app, receiving "Amazon-style" updates on their medication status. This new feature aims to reduce the administrative burden on pharmacies by minimising unnecessary calls and visits, freeing up staff to focus on patient care. NHS England estimates that approximately 45% of calls to community pharmacies are from individuals checking on their prescriptions. The app now allows patients to track their prescriptions, showing whether they are ready for collection or have been shipped for delivery. Nearly 1,500 high street pharmacies, including Boots, have already adopted the technology. The service is expected to expand to almost 5,000 pharmacies within the next year. Dr Vin Diwakar, clinical transformation director at NHS England, said: “We know that people want more control over how they manage their healthcare and the new prescription tracking feature in the NHS app offers exactly that. “You will now get a near real-time update in the app that lets you know when your medicine is ready so you can avoid unnecessary trips or leaving it until the last minute to collect. “The new Amazon-style feature will also help to tackle the administrative burden on pharmacists, so that they can spend more of their time providing health services and advice to patients rather than updates on the status of their prescriptions.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 May 2025
  3. News Article
    The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), a world leader in improving medication safety, is building a medication error reporting program and portal for community pharmacies licensed by the California Board of Pharmacy. This will be the first state-mandated medication error reporting program in the nation focused specifically on community pharmacy. The creation of the California Medication Errors Reporting Program is a result of the enaction of Assembly Bill 1286 (Haney, Chapter 470, Statutes of 2023) in 2023 to improve patient safety and address staffing and workplace conditions in community pharmacies. ISMP has decades of experience collecting and analysing medication error reports to identify risks and guide safety improvements across care settings. ISMP runs the only national voluntary, practitioner-based reporting system, the ISMP National Medication Errors Reporting Program, as well as the ISMP National Vaccine Errors Reporting Program and ISMP Consumer Medication Errors Reporting Program. Building upon the experience with existing ISMP reporting programmes, analysis, and error prevention efforts, ISMP will use submitted medication error reports to identify key trends, patterns and safety issues. ISMP will also provide the California Board of Pharmacy with an annual report based on aggregate data that includes reduction strategies and other actionable recommendations for safety improvements. “The California Medication Errors Reporting Program will produce data-driven insights about preventable adverse events that can drive broad systemic change,” says Rita K. Jew, president of ISMP. “Reporting errors and near misses is essential to ensure the success of efforts to reduce risk in the community pharmacy setting. We applaud California for being a national leader in taking this forward-thinking step to safeguard patients and hope other states will implement similar programs.” Read full story Source: ECRI, 8 May 2025
  4. Content Article
    Health Literacy in Medicines Use and Pharmacy: A Definitive Guide highlights issues related to medication literacy from the context of the pharmacist and other healthcare professionals. The book provides a clear explanation of medication literacy, presents different tools to assess health and medication literacy, readability, and comprehensibility of written medicine information (WMI), and elaborates on different approaches to develop customized and patient-friendly WMI. The book also covers health and medication literacy in special populations, including geriatrics, paediatrics, and pregnant/lactating patients. Written by experts in health communication, this book will help pharmacists, other health professionals, educators, students, and regulators, who need to develop customised educational materials that can be understood by a broad range of patients, especially those with low health literacy.
  5. Content Article
    A resource collating the latest medication safety communications and publications to inform, support and inspire medication safety improvements. Each month the SPS Medicines Advice team gathers and reviews recent medication safety communications, reports, publications and practice research. The slide deck resource includes items considered pertinent to supporting or delivering against the medication safety agenda. Items include: Medication related safety alerts and notifications. Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) changes. Risk minimisation materials. Medication shortages and discontinuations. Publications and reports. Prevention of Future Death Reports (Regulation 28) recommendations. Primary research papers on medication safety.
  6. News Article
    The morning-after pill will be available without charge on the NHS at pharmacies in England, the government has announced in an effort to reduce the “postcode lottery” of free access to the emergency contraception. The morning-after pill is one of two forms of emergency contraception that women can use after having unprotected sex, or where other forms of contraception have failed. The sooner that emergency contraception is used, the more effective it is. The new announcement aims to increase access to the morning-after pill; while it is already available for nothing from most GP surgeries, most sexual health clinics and some NHS walk-in centres, not all pharmacies offer it for nothing, with some women paying up to £30 for the medication. The health minister Stephen Kinnock said: “Equal access to safe and effective contraception is crucial to women’s healthcare and a cornerstone of a fair society. “Women across England face an unfair postcode lottery when seeking emergency contraception, with access varying dramatically depending on where they live. By making this available at community pharmacies, we will ensure all women can access this essential healthcare when they need it, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 30 March 2025-
  7. News Article
    Independent pharmacies in England have been advised to slash their opening hours in a row over funding. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said it had “been left with little choice” but to recommend its 6,000 members take collective action for the first time in its history, unless the government provides “new and sufficient” funding to cover significant new costs. About 90% of an average pharmacy’s work is funded via the NHS, including dispensing medication and vaccinations. But the NPA, which represents community pharmacies, says members have yet to receive any confirmation of funding for the 2024-25 or the 2025-26 financial years. Increases in employers’ national insurance rates, the national living wage and business rates from April, on top of these unresolved funding issues could “jeopardise patient safety”, it says. Significant numbers of pharmacies have already ceased trading, with 1,300 pharmacies shutting since 2017. Nick Kaye, chair of the NPA, said the move was necessary “to safeguard patient services for the long term”, adding: “It is better that we temporarily reduce access in the short term than let pharmacies collapse." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 18 March 2025
  8. Content Article
    Written instructive information for the patient is key in pharmaceutical care. However, the preexisting literature agrees on the discordance between the readability of written medication messages intended for patients. The aim of this study was to systematically review the available evidence on the effect of pharmaceutical pictograms as elements that facilitate understanding of the text in primary or secondary medication packaging.
  9. News Article
    Patients are being put at risk of serious illness as pharmacists are unable to dispense vital medications due to drug shortages, industry leaders have warned. At least once a day drug supply problems mean pharmacies are unable to dispense a prescription, according to a survey of 500 pharmacies by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). Currently if a prescription is out of stock, patients need to go back to their GP to get an alternative medication. But this can delay care and increase the risk of serious illness. That’s because the pharmacist is not permitted to make a substitution even if they have a safe alternative in stock, this is except in very limited circumstances where a Serious Shortage Protocol has been issued by the NHS. The NPA, which represents 6,000 independent community pharmacies, is calling on the government to grant greater flexibility for pharmacists to substitute medication or strength of a drug when it is safe to do so. The NPA says it is “madness” to send someone back to the GP and warned the current situation poses a risk to patient safety. It said it could lead to patients potentially going without vital medication, such as some types of antibiotics, presenting a serious risk to their health. Read full story Source: The Independent, 10 March 2025 Related reading on the hub: Medicines shortages: minimising the impact on patients Medication supply issues: A pharmacist’s perspective Medication supply issues: Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS)
  10. News Article
    Access to weight-loss jabs through online pharmacies is to be tightened up as part of a crackdown on inappropriate prescriptions – although some experts say even more must be done. Weight-loss injections such as Wegovy, which contains the drug semaglutide, and Mounjaro, which contains the drug tirzepatide, have boomed in popularity after trials showed they can help people lose significant amounts of weight, with many people seeking private prescriptions. However, concerns have been raised that the medications are being inappropriately prescribed through online pharmacies to people who do not meet the criteria for them. A Guardian investigation previously revealed some online pharmacies operating in the UK have approved and dispatched private prescriptions of the jabs to people of a healthy weight, as well as to those who have lied about their weight to meet criteria for a prescription. Now the general pharmaceutical council (GPhC), which regulates pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises in England, Scotland and Wales, has said it is tightening the rules. The changes mean pharmacies can no longer base decisions about online prescribing of weight-loss jabs – or other high-risk medications such as antimicrobials, laxatives and opioids – on the information provided in an online questionnaire alone, as some online pharmacies have done previously. Instead, such information must be verified independently. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 February 2025
  11. Content Article
    Despite medication being the most common healthcare intervention and medication-related incidents being common in hospitals, many rural and remote hospitals in Australia lack onsite pharmacy services due to resource constraints. This study examined the outcomes of a Virtual Clinical Pharmacy Service (VCPS) staffed by two senior, rural generalist hospital pharmacists assigned to four hospitals each that was implemented in rural and remote facilities. It aimed to determine whether the VCPS increased adherence to National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (NSQHS). The study demonstrated that the VCPS: improved compliance with national standards for medication safety had high patient acceptability resulted in the detection of clinically relevant medication-related issues in rural and remote settings. The authors recommend that the possibilities of virtual pharmacy should be explored in further rural and remote locations, in addition to other settings such as urban locations with no onsite clinical pharmacists.
  12. Content Article
    Despite various initiatives to tackle the problem, safety incidents linked to the late administration of medicines, or medicines that have been omitted entirely, have remained stubbornly high for decades. In this article (link at bottom of page) for the Pharmaceutical Journal, David Lipanovic says a national focus may finally deliver a solution. Related reading: HSSIB investigation report: Medication not given: administration of time critical medication in the emergency department (5 December 2024)
  13. Content Article
    Catherine Picton is a health and policy consultant who has worked for over 25 years for the NHS, professional bodies, health think tanks and patient charities. A pharmacist by professional background, her policy work is often connected to medicines. In this blog, Catherine talks about the recent report she co-authored for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society; Medicines Shortages Policy: Solutions for empty shelves, and minimising the risk to patient safety.  At the end of 2023 I was contacted by The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), the professional leadership body for pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists. As an organisation they were increasingly hearing from their members about the number and extent of medicines shortages and the impact that was having on teams managing the shortages and the corresponding impact on patient care. The RPS decided that addressing medicines shortages was a priority for them and so commissioned me to ’hold the pen’ on a thought leadership report. A complex issue It soon became apparent that medicines shortages are a problem that touch all parts of the system from the regulation, manufacture and distribution of medicines through to the clinical teams prescribing and the pharmacy teams supplying those medicines. Not to mention the direct impact on patients. We wanted to produce a report that showed how all these parts of the system fit together and where problems arise. Ultimately, we wanted to highlight the need for collaboration across the system, to enable the UK to prevent and mitigate medicines shortages and to minimise the impact on patients when shortages do occur. Collaboration was key We engaged with many people and worked with an expert advisory group of stakeholders from across the medicines supply chain. Our engagement activity involved: Manufacturers Wholesalers. The Department of Health and Social Care. Think tanks. Academics. NHS teams managing medicines shortages nationally. NHS staff with expertise of procurement and managing shortages locally in both hospitals and in primary care. Most importantly, with the help of National Voices and their members, we worked with patients. and this gave us insight into the impact that medicines shortages are having on patients and their families. The impact on patient safety Patient safety concerns are multifactorial with medicines shortages. In the report we saw that different shortages can have different levels of safety risks, and therefore need to have different measures in place. Deterioration - At a fundamental level, if a patient is rationing or missing doses of their medicines because they are unable to obtain a supply, as has been reported with the current shortage of Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy, there is a significant risk of deterioration in the patient’s clinical condition. Dosing errors - In other cases, there may be a risk of dosing errors. For example, where one medicine is being substituted for another or a different route of administration is being used and healthcare professionals are less familiar with the guidelines for using these medicines. Delays - At another level, where professional staff are diverted from front line care to manage medicines shortages, access to healthcare professionals is delayed. This can subsequently cause delays to necessary treatment. Case study: medication for schizophrenia There has been a recent shortage of olanzapine which is given as a slow release injection monthly. It is typically used to manage symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking. It is used in forensic settings to help people recover and return to the community. Slow release injections of olanzapine are also essential for patients once in the community, to help them remain stable. National medicines supply teams cascaded a Medicines Supply Notification about the shortage with management recommendations. Local pharmacy teams, working with their clinical colleagues, introduced a range of these solutions to manage the shortage. These included moving stock around the country and delaying starting olanzapine for new patients to conserve supplies for those already on established treatment. As a last resort when shortages were severe, vials of olanzapine were split so that two patients could be treated with one vial. A process that added an increased risk of error in medicine dosing as nursing teams were unfamiliar with the process. Pharmacy and clinical teams spent significant amounts of time looking for supplies of olanzapine and managing patients unable to be effectively treated. As well as pulling them away from seeing other patients, this took a toll on clinical teams who were aware that their decisions could lead to deteriorations in their patient’s mental state. The impact of deteriorations could, for example, lead to: readmission to forensic settings assaults on other patients or staff general decline in function which would likely delay their discharge. Reducing risk and improving communication Medicines shortages present a real risk to patient safety. On a national level we need to look across the supply chain to see how we can put systems into place that enable the UK to protect against these risks. It also means making sure that we have systems in place locally to manage medicines and communicate better with individual patients. When a medicine is in shortage patients need to know what steps to take and when their medicines will be available. We can work more closely with patient charities and the voluntary sector to ensure that accurate and reliable messages get out to patients and head off misinformation. For teams managing increases in medicines shortages the impact on their workloads has been substantial. This is coming on top of already busy stressed working environments. Anything we can do to help teams manage this new level of shortages and help to take away some of that load will benefit patient safety. The report recommendations include: Reducing unnecessary duplication of effort. Providing easily accessible, trusted information about the causes and expected duration of shortages. Facilitating easier communication between healthcare teams. Final reflections The causes of medicines shortages are complex and the current increase we are seeing is driven by a range of different factors. There is a lot of work already going on nationally to help local NHS organisations manage medicines shortages, but we do need to do more. From my perspective, I don’t see medicines shortages reducing any time soon. We need to be better at communicating with healthcare teams and patients about the causes of shortages, and what we all have to do to help ensure that the impact on patients is minimised. Now the report has been published RPS are continuing to raise the profile of medicines shortages within parliament and working collaboratively with stakeholders to take forward recommendations. The RPS also committed to review the implementation of the recommendations in the report in twelve months to establish the extent of progress made. Related reading Medication supply issues: A pharmacist’s perspective Medicines shortages: House of Commons Research Briefing Medication supply issues: Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS)
  14. News Article
    Pharmacy owners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have voted in favour of cutting opening hours and stopping home deliveries for the first time, in a protest over government funding. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which ran the ballot, is calling for an annual £1.7bn funding increase to plug the “financial hole”. The NPA represents 6,500 of the UK's community pharmacies - that's around half of them. It says 99% of those that responded to the vote said they were willing to limit their services unless funding was improved. Pharmacies could decide: not to open beyond 40 hours a week, into evenings and at weekends. to stop providing free home deliveries of medicines which are not funded. not to offer emergency contraception, substance misuse and smoking support services. to refuse to co-operate with certain data requests. to stop supplying free monitored dose systems (medicine packs), other than those covered by the Equality Act. NPA chairman Nick Kaye said the ballot result "overwhelmingly shows the sheer anger and frustration of pharmacy owners at a decade of cuts that is forcing dedicated health professionals to shut their doors for good". He said he cared deeply about his patients - like other pharmacy teams - but he has never experienced a situation as desperate as this. Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 November 2024
  15. News Article
    Pharmacies have said they will halt a number of services within weeks, including the end of free medicine deliveries and extended opening hours, unless the government drastically boosts funding for the sector to stem an “escalating crisis”. In a high-turnout ballot run by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which represents independent community pharmacies, 99% of pharmacy owners said they were willing to limit their services in the interests of patient safety if improved funding was not forthcoming. Leaders in the sector warned that a failure to boost funding for pharmacies would lead to further closures and said the “sense of anger” among pharmacy owners had intensified after the budget, citing the 6.7% increase in the national minimum wage and rise in employer national insurance (NI) contributions. Dr Leyla Hannbeck, the chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, said: “The community pharmacy sector is in an escalating crisis with a £1.7bn shortfall in its funding. This has got worse with the hike in the employer NI resulting in £12,000 extra costs annually for our members. As healthcare professionals, we believe that patients must not be caused suffering by any withdrawals of our members’ valuable and vital professional services.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 November 2024
  16. Content Article
    On 27 March 2024 an investigation took place into the death of Sewa Kaur Chaddha, then aged 82. Mrs Chaddha had been living with her husband in Slough. They both had a number of physical health conditions requiring multiple prescribed medications. They both had cognitive impairment due to their age. On 5 May 2023 Mrs Chaddha was found collapsed on the floor at their home. It was discovered that she had been taking her husbands medication instead of her own for several days, including diabetes medication. Her blood sugar levels were found to be extremely low. She died on 10 May 2023 at Wexham Park Hospital of hyponatraemia caused by the necessary treatment for hypoglycaemia which was in turn caused by the accidental ingestion of hypoglycaemic medication. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 24 May 2024. The conclusion of the inquest was accident, the medical cause of death being: I a Hyponatraemia I b Treatment for hypoglycaemia I c Ingestion of hypoglycaemic medication II Frailty of old age, decompensated heart failure, cognitive impairment. Matters of Concerns The medications were provided to the couple by the local pharmacy, then known as Lloyds Pharmacy, in separate dosset boxes. Mrs Chaddha’s medications were provided on a weekly basis. Mr Chaddha’s were provided on a monthly basis. Both patients were elderly and had cognitive impairment. (The two patients’ dosset boxes were identical to each other except for a small pharmacist’s label with small type with the relevant patient’s name. Mrs Chaddha used one of Mr Chaddha’s dosset boxes, rather than her own, for several days. Evidence was given at the inquest that there was no guidance or policy in place for Pharmacists to follow when issuing medication to patients with cognitive impairments, or if there was, it was not well disseminated among the pharmacist population. Evidence was given at the inquest that dosset boxes of different colours or labels with different colours were not routinely given to elderly or cognitively impaired patients living at the same address.
  17. Content Article
    Primary care – general practice, community pharmacy, optometry and dental services – delivers 90% of NHS interactions, face to face, by phone or online. The Primary care patient safety strategy describes the national and local commitments to improve patient safety in primary care, supporting all areas in this sector to fully implement the NHS Patient Safety Strategy. This strategy has three core areas of focus: Developing a supportive, learning environment and just culture in primary care, with sharing across the system so that the services can continually improve. Ensuring that the safety and wellbeing of patients and staff is central, and that our approach to managing safety is systematic and based on safety science and systems thinking. Involving patients in the identification and co-design of primary care patient safety ambitions, opportunities and improvements. This strategy seeks to continuously improve patient safety through existing processes and structures as much as possible, rather than adding work. The timeframes for the implementation of the local commitments are intentionally flexible to allow for the piloting of different approaches, and, while this strategy is for all areas of primary care, some improvements will be implemented first in general practice and the successes and learning then used in the rollout to community pharmacy, optometry and dental services. In summary: Safety culture: participate in the NHS staff survey. Safety systems: complete patient safety syllabus training. Insight: register for and use the new incident recording (LFPSE) and incident response (PSIRF) systems. Involvement: identify patient safety leads and lay patient safety partners. Improvement: review and test patient safety improvements in diagnosis, medication, referrals, optometry and dental services.
  18. Content Article
    This National Patient Safety Alert, issued by the NHS England National Patient Safety Team and endorsed by the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, Royal College of Midwives and Royal College of Anaesthetists, instructs all relevant NHS funded maternity care providers to cease pre-preparing oxytocin infusions at ward level in all clinical areas. All actions should be completed by 31 March 2025. Midwives need to complete several tasks immediately and simultaneously following birth to ensure the safety of both the mother and baby. To support this, postpartum oxytocin infusions have been prepared in advance of being required. If a pre-prepared oxytocin infusion is unintentionally given before the baby is born, for example if it is confused with standard fluids or the intrapartum and postpartum infusions are confused, the woman’s contractions will increase in frequency and strength. This can lower the baby’s oxygen levels and alter their heart rate, increasing the risk of placental abruption (where the placenta prematurely separates from the uterus and deprives the baby of oxygen). A review of the National Reporting and Learning Systems over a 5 year period identified 25 incidents. Actions required: Review and update local clinical procedures (or equivalent documents) to ensure: Oxytocin infusions for any indication are not pre-prepared at ward level in any clinical area (including delivery suites and theatres). Post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) kits/ trolleys are immediately available in all clinical areas/theatres where it may be required. Where a woman is identified to be at high risk of PPH: (a) the PPH kit/trolley should be brought into the labour/delivery room/theatre during the second stage of labour, (b) the postpartum oxytocin infusion should be prepared at the time of birth and not before, (c) a second midwife should be available to support the administration of the postpartum oxytocin infusion. Roles and responsibilities of staff groups in the labour setting, including theatres, are clearly defined in terms of prescribing, preparation, administration and disposal of oxytocin infusions. Including: intrapartum oxytocin infusions, postpartum oxytocin infusions and unused, pre-prepared oxytocin. infusions.
  19. Event
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    This webinar hosted by the Patients Association provides an opportunity to hear about the new Pharmacy First Service. Speakers include: David Webb, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England Pallavi Dawda, Head of Delivery, Clinical Strategy Community Pharmacy, NHS England Leighton Colegrave, member of Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB's Patient Engagement Forum Tunde Sokoya, community pharmacist, Essex Lindsey Fairbrother, community pharmacist, Derbyshire. The Patients Association Chief Executive Rachel Power will chair the webinar. Register for free.
  20. Community Post
    Have you (or a loved one) ever been prescribed medication that you were then unable to get hold of at the pharmacy? Was there an impact on your health (physical and mental)? Were you told the reason for it not being available? Was the issue resolved? If so, how long did it take? If you are still impacted by medication supply issues, have you been told when you will be able to access them again? To help us understand how these issues impact the lives of patients and families, please share your experience and insights in the comments below. You'll need to register with the hub first, its free and easy to do. We would also like to hear from pharmacists working in community or hospital settings, and others who have insights to share on this issue. What barriers and challenges have you seen around medication availability? Is there anything that can be done to improve wider systems or processes? Please comment below or email us at [email protected]
  21. Content Article
    US endocrinologist Richard Plotzker shares a recent experience of buying over-the-counter medication from a grocery store. When he opened the outer packaging, the blister packs were empty apart from one pill in each being resealed by scotch tape. Richard called the manufacturer and returned the medication for investigation. He describes how the incident highlights the need to be vigilant about any unusual appearance in the packaging of medication.
  22. Content Article
    Community pharmacies are offering an increased range of services to support care for people in the community. It is therefore essential that they are able to record and share vital information about a person’s care with GP practices and other services. Using digital standards, we can ensure that care professionals and citizens have timely access to relevant information, leading to better, safer and more personalised care in the community. This Community Pharmacy Standard developed by the Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB) defines the information that should be recorded in the community pharmacy and sent to the person’s GP, for all the services covered by the English Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework. The standard covers the following services: New medicine service Appliance use review Vaccine administration Community pharmacy consultation service (CPCS) emergency supply of medications CPCS minor illness Smoking cessation Blood pressure check Contraception Hepatitis C
  23. Content Article
    A service providing bilingual medication information is helping to reduce healthcare inequalities and medical errors. Pharmacies across London are benefitting from the support of Written Medicine; a service providing bilingual dispensing labels in patients’ language of choice. Founded in 2012, Written Medicine’s software is used by pharmacies and hospitals to translate and print medication information, instructions and warnings. Drawn from a dataset of 3,500 phrases, printed labels are available in fifteen different languages. The bi-lingual labels are supporting patients to take ownership of their treatment; giving them a better understanding of how to take their prescribed medication. The solution is helping to reduce errors, improve medication adherence and enhance patient safety and experience. London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWH) has been using Written Medicine since 2016, starting from their outpatient pharmacy in Ealing Hospital. The Trust serves an ethnically and linguistically diverse demographic across North West London, which requires interpreting services in over 40 languages, mostly from South Asia, Middle East and Eastern Europe. An audit to assess the quality and impact of the bilingual labelling service at LNWH report in 2019 stated, “post-service questionnaire revealed all patients would like the continuation of the service by their community pharmacies demonstrating the impact it has had in patient empowerment and adherence.”. Poureya Aghakhani, Principal Pharmacist at Ealing Hospital, part of LNWH said, “Patients who are unable to speak English are less likely to understand their doctors, pharmacists and written instructions. This can stop them from taking their medication or may result in them taking it in an unhelpful or dangerous way. “Giving patients information in a language they understand increases awareness around how and when medication should be taken. It empowers individuals to take ownership of their treatment, improving how they manage their conditions and reduces their risk of harm."
  24. Content Article
    Community pharmacies in Sweden have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and new routines have been introduced to address the needs of customers and staff and to reduce the risk of spreading infection. Burnout has been described among staff possibly due to a changed working climate. However, little research has focused on the pandemic's effect on patient safety in community pharmacies. The aim of this study was to examine pharmacists' perceptions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workload, working environment, and patient safety in community pharmacies. Highlights:. This was a national census study, encompassing all community pharmacists. Workload increased and working conditions deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patient safety was not perceived to be affected in community pharmacies. Pharmacists felt lack of understanding from management regarding working conditions.
  25. Content Article
    A new report from the Public Policy Projects (PPP) calls on integrated care systems (ICSs) to harness the unique capabilities of the pharmacy sector and implement a pharmacy-led transformation of healthcare delivery. The report, Driving true value from medicines and pharmacy, is chaired by Yousaf Ahmad, ICS Chief Pharmacist and Director of Medicines Optimisation at Frimley Health and Care Integrated Care System, and is the culmination of three roundtable events attended by key stakeholders from across the pharmacy sector and ICS leadership. Insight from these roundtables has also been accepted as evidence in the Health and Care Select Committee’s recent inquiry into the future of the pharmacy sector.
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