Clinical Pharmacists focus on how a patient is managing their medication and what matters to them, so that they can provide advice about the safest and most effective options available. 

As experts in medicines, the team support healthcare teams working in GP surgeries and care homes to audit and review their prescriptions, medicines and stock. They also support patients coming out of hospital back home or into a community settings.

Clinical Pharmacists

• Discuss, explain and help patients understand their medications better, leading to more effective medicines benefit.
• Review patients holistically across their conditions and work with carers and families to understand patients and match care to their needs and preferences.
• Respond expertly to queries from patients and clinicians about all manner of medicine queries – helping get it right, first time.
• Manage NICE alerts and conduct safety audits
• Support management of local health population initiatives

Pharmacy Technicians:

• Support Clinical Pharmacists to manage discharges and transition from secondary care.
• Support pharmacy interactions and stock availability, and research cost effective or necessary switches.
• Review hospital and clinical letters and amend patient’s records appropriately.
• Dealing with medication queries and suggesting alternatives for medications with supply problems or finding more cost-effective options.
• Liaise with patients and community pharmacies about medication and repeat supplies, helping surgeries to identify patients who need recalling/reviewing.

Since April 2016, PICS has been involved in NHS England’s Clinical Pharmacist pilots in the Nottingham West and Ashfield areas. The scheme has been piloted over 4 years, enabling practices to access funding to support the employment of Clinical Pharmacists in General Practices. The pilots were launched to help support the increasing demands in General Practice by subsidising employment of clinical pharmacists. A broad range of tasks can be undertaken with the right training and mentoring, which is all included as part of the training for the pilot. This includes medication reviews, supporting discharges from hospitals, medication queries and long term conditions management. There are 6 participating practices in Nottingham West and 6 participating practices in Ashfield. The Clinical pharmacists work in teams typically of 6,  with a senior clinical pharmacist supporting up to 5 clinical pharmacists.

PICS have also been successful in winning a bid for funding from NHS England to support the employment of Clinical Pharmacists to work in general practice across the whole of Mansfield and Ashfield and Newark and Sherwood Clinical Commissioning Group. In addition, PICS has helped the Nottingham City GP Alliance to implement their clinical pharmacy Programme, and has recently been asked to help Nottingham North and East for their programme. The programme manager has also provided advice and guidance to Rushcliffe practice clinical pharmacy programme.

These local Clinical Pharmacist activities have been shortlisted as a finalist in 2017 and 2018 Chemist and Druggist awards for GP Pharmacy partnership of the year, and was awarded “Runner Up” both times. (http://picsnhs.org.uk/2018/07/26/chemist-and-druggist-awards-2018-gp-pharmacy-partnership-of-the-year-runner-up/)

Local programmes have been independently evaluated by the University of Nottingham, School of Pharmacy, who have confirmed it was a very successful programme from patients, GPs and Pharmacist perspectives.

The service has resulted in

• Helping patients to gain better understanding of their medicines.
• Helping patients get better use of their medicines.