Blog Posts

Chairmans Blog:- More Shots in the arm?

15/12/2014

I'm feeling absolutely delighted today.

I've checked the Flu vaccination numbers and we're well up on last year.

Well done to all those pharmacists who trained up; and offered this service to the vulnerable patients of Gateshead & South Tyneside - helping our GP colleagues (through access and choice) to reach the targets set by the DOH.

Giving flu vaccinations from pharmacy really is a worthwhile public health service; and it's good news on so many other fronts.

Firstly, it shows that the public really do value this clinical service from pharmacies - they're voting with their feet; and the post immunisatrion evaluation forms show this also!

Secondly, this helps to change the mindset of the public to expect clinical services from Pharmacies - reminding patients that we do more than count tablets!

Thirdly, the fact that pharmacies are covered in flu information helps to raise the public awareness of why a flu vaccine is important.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly for contractors, is the fact that commissioners - having seen how well we are vaccinating for flu - may consider using pharmacy for shingles, pneumonia, hepatitis B and pertussis vaccinations.

Now that really would be a shot in the arm for community pharmacy!

Chairmans Blog: New Pharmaceutical Services?

7/11/2014

A lot of people ask me about new pharmacy services...particularly new public health services. When will they materialise?

We constantly hear about primary care creaking at the seams; and community pharmacy is ready and able to be deployed in so many areas to help. Secondary care is transferring to primary care and GPs simply cannot cope - so much of the traditional GP work is being done by practice nurses; who themselves are being stretched. If commissioned community pharmacy would be able to take the work load off busy practice nurses and GPs. There's no reason why we couldn't manage certain long term conditions as well as over health professionals. For example, hypertension patients could be actively managed when they call in for their prescription via blood pressure monitoring, repeat dispensing and some feedback mechanism. Doses could be adjusted where necessary via PGDs or prescribing. Another example could be patients with asthma, where they are actively managed in a similar way using spirometry or peak flow monitoring and inhaler technique monitoring. A "beefed up" minor ailment scheme from all pharmacies with proper referral by all agencies would certainly take the strain off GPs and lead to less hospital attendance at casualty.

There are many others possible services...they just need to be commissioned.

The LPC is engaging with all the appropriate commissioning bodies to try and ensure that such services are commissioned as soon as possible...hopefully the penny will drop and community pharmacies will be empowered to really provide professional pharmaceutical care like our colleagues in hospital have been doing for many years.

This will lead to so many positive health benefits to the residents of Gateshead & South Tyneside.

Chairmans Blog: To be stored in a fridge, or not in a fridge? - that is the question.

21/10/2014

I've been told by GP colleagues that "some" patients appear to be confused about when to store certain inhalers in the fridge and when it's not required to do so.

In particular, some patients are storing their in-use Fostair inhalers in the fridge. As we all know, the product needs to be stored in a fridge in the pharmacy, but once dispensed it should be stored like other inhalers.

Perhaps this example should be a wake-up call to us all to remind patients what should/should not be stored in a fridge when we counsel patients?

It's perhaps not so important with Fostair, but it's very important with other medication...

Chairmans Blog: Flu Vaccination Season is here!

26/9/2014

Well, here we are again.
The Flu vaccination season is in full swing and I hope as many contractors as possible are vaccinating eligible people. There's a sort of use or lose mentality around at the moment with services and pharmacy - and we really must add value as a profession.

Doing lots of flu vaccination helps.

Running a Flu vaccination clinic really is an important public health service; and I find it so professionally rewarding. Some colleagues have said to me, why vaccinate? It's a technical task, that should be done by others. My view is simply this - The public benefit with convenience and access, more people will be vaccinated by pharmacy engagement, and we are helping to reduce pressure in GP surgeries. As a fringe benefit, any clinical service we provide helps to move us forward as the clinical profession we are!

If you have decided NOT to provide a service this year, then please signpost to pharmacies that are providing the service - and consider doing it yourself next year!

If you ARE providing the service then please enter the data promptly onto pharmoutcomes. This will allow commissioners in real time to see what a great service we are offering - and help to ensure that you get paid promptly.

Chairmans Blog: Flu Season Ahead

27/8/2014

It's August now and the Flu season is just around the corner.

Gateshead & South Tyneside LPC has been working with other LPCs in the Region to secure the service and you will have seen plenty of communications coming through about the necessary training and how to obtain stock.

All the resources you need to provide a service this year are located on our Northern Pharmacy website , and it all starts on September the first.

This year for the first time (in collaboration with all the Northern LPCs) we have organised radio advertising to help drive the public into community pharmacies for vaccination!

Advertising the flu service is a real first for the LPC and hopefully it will help us all to provide this important innoculation service to the vulnerable members of our society...

Start jabbing in September when your vaccine arrives!

Chairmans Blog: Are e-cigarette users "vapers" an opportunity for pharmacy?

27/7/2014

The debate continues as to whether pharmacies should stock these products...

Whether we do or don't, however, many "pop up" shops are now springing up in city centres with quite aggressive marketing (see the picture I took on a recent trip to Leeds) and "vaping" is becoming more and more main-stream. I was at the theatre a couple of weeks ago and the person next to me was sucking on an e-cigarette during the performance. I've seen people in pubs reach for e-cigarettes and e-cigars. I've even heard of e-pipes!

Why is this happening? Well, e-cigarettes are neither medicines nor tobacco products so restrictions on supply don't apply and advertising is aggressive...they also seem to be popular with younger smokers with all the different flavours available for vaping.

At the last LPC we had an interesting presentation about e-cigarettes and it turns out that the evidence shows that 71% of people who use these products are attempting to quit smoking, but 2/3 of users stop within a month and return to smoking...perhaps because they don't deliver nicotine at the same rate as cigarettes?

As they are battery operated devices, when the battery runs down - the rate of delivery reduces. Indeed - this is one of he reasons why it is so difficult to manufacture a licensed product!

So, if many vaping individuals are giving up vaping, are e-cigarette users an opportunity for Pharmacy?

Yes, I believe this is true.

We should be advising users of e-cigarettes (vapers) that when they stop using them, pharmacies offer smoking cessation clinics where expert advice combined with supply of licensed nicotine products can really help smokers to quit!

Johnson & Johnson have produced some useful flow charts to help pharmacy staff as well as poster. You can see these by clicking here where you will be able to rode some to be sent to you.

Chairmans Blog: - Service review?

22/7/2014

You may or may not know about an enhanced service - only available in South Tyneside - which we used to call "supervision/daily dispensing of non cd drugs."

This service has been around for many years and was originally commissioned by the old South Tyneside health authority. It isn't used very often. It is (was) ahead of its time really...the idea is that vulnerable adults identified by the GP/prescriber as needing support daily are sent to the pharmacy with what's known as a "white form" - and a monthly prescription.This avoids the need for daily prescriptions for these very vulnerable members of society - Very useful if patients are at risk of overdose. The pharmacy then dispenses, or supervises, the product daily (or as suggested in the form).

The pharmacy make a claim for the supplies via a claim pathway. I say it's ahead of its time because it's exactly this sort of service that was identified in the recent "call to a action" - to allow pharmacists to provide better care to patients...

Sadly there's talk of a service review and this service is currently "on hold" as South Tyneside is an outlier...and since the NHS changes, a budget needs to be found for it to continue.

So much for innovation...It's this sort of service that should be commissioned everywhere to help vulnerable adults stay out of institutions or prevent accidental or deliberate overdosing...

Chairmans Blog: Honestly, things have changed......

14/7/2014

I had an email the other day from South Tyneside CCG regarding an issue under public consultation at the moment; namely the new emergency care hub idea - that is the idea to develop a one stop shop on the general hospital site.

There were very few members of the public at the first consultation event, but those that were there seemed to agree that the current walk in centre is a convenient and accessible way of obtaining services, but that these could potentially be delivered by the person's GP or community pharmacy.

Good news for pharmacy you may think?

Well, yes and no, because although the public welcomed pharmacy's contribution, anything other than the supply function simply wasn't really understood and more shockingly, the entire audience was unaware that community pharmacies these days have private consultation rooms!

We all have some real work to do here; the LPC and contractors...we simply must raise our game here...for pharmacy the consultation room is a given now, but why are the public so unaware?

Chairmans Blog: Throwing out the good with the bad?

27/6/2014

A patient returned a bag of medication yesterday...a whole load of out of date medication and some controlled drugs to destroy.

Today, the same patient rang and said "can I have my old medication back please - I need the antibiotics and the tamoxifen"

Well, she didn't get them - and we referred her back to the GP to discuss her needs...we explained that returned medication is professionally disposed of in a timely manner (we don't keep it lying around!)

It's amazing how she ended up with expired antibiotics in the first place and the fact that she wanted to take expired tamoxifen doesn't bear thinking about??

Unwanted or out of date medication should be promptly returned to a pharmacy for destruction!

Guest Blog - Richard Copeland & Graeme Richardson Blog about Diabetes Workshop

10/6/2014

The LPC put on a practical Diabetes workshop for Pharmacists. LPN Chair, Richard Copeland and Chief Pharmacist, South Tyneside Hopsital Graeme Richardson attended the event alongside a packed room of local pharmacists and staff.

They have summarised the training in a useful blog below. Make sure you follow us on twitter, facebook or join our mailing list to be informed of future training sessions.

Diabetes Workshop

The training covered the importance of appropriate needle length, the human skin is on average only 2mm thick and in most cases a needle length of 4mm will be sufficient to deposit the insulin in the subcutaneous tissue. Using too long a needle without pinching (or a poor pinching technique) can mean that the insulin is injected into muscle which is painful and gives an unpredictable and rapid release. Additionally injection sites must be rotated to prevent the development of lipohypertrophy (lumps in the subcutaneous layer), this can be due to habit or the fact that injecting into the same area is often less painful. However injecting into such areas causes unpredictable reduced and delayed release of the insulin, and often doses injected become elevated to counter these issues. Pharmacists undertaking medication review should take the opportunity to examine injection sites for lipohypertrophy, particularly when injection sites have not been moved. In this case, it would be practical to recommend a reduction in dosage of approximately 30%, with re-checking of blood glucose, and follow-up appointment with the diabetes specialist nurse.

The talk was very useful, and having a personal family member with diabetes I found some of the tips and real life examples of patients helped me to not only consider my knowledge professionally but also personally as I discussed dosing and needle length with with my family. An excellent session.

Graeme Richardson & Richard Copeland