Pictured (L-R): Alistair Gray, Shaun Morgan and Ellie Bland
Today is World Pharmacists Day and we are taking the opportunity to highlight the importance of our Pharmacy Team at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.
Ellie Bland has just completed her pre-registration year with ELHT and due to COVID-19 is now ‘provisionally registered’ as a pharmacist rather than being formally registered. Ellie says:
“Pharmacists are important in hospital and in the community as they are in a prime position to help people get the best from their medicines, and to make sure that treatments are effective. We have the skills to spot unintentional errors, which may cause harm and extend hospital lengths of stay. And we are good at making sure the best, most cost-effective treatments are recommended and used.
“I have always loved sciences and wanted a public-facing role; pharmacy was a perfect fit for me.
“At ELHT no day is the same; there are always challenges to be resolved and many opportunities to progress. It’s great to work as part of both the pharmacy team and the clinical team on the wards. As a pre-registration pharmacist I found that there was a good support network and an exceptional training programme which has helped me to prepare for pharmacy practice. The support and development I had as a pre-registration trainee has continued into my registration.
“Pharmacy is an extremely interesting and rewarding career choice, full of learning opportunities. It makes me happy to know I have contributed positively to someone’s care and I hope they remember my contribution.”
Shaun Morgan is one of ELHT’s Antimicrobial and Critical Care Lead Pharmacists. Shaun says:
“Pharmacists are important to ensure that patients get optimal and individualised treatment to address their healthcare needs. We play a key role in the management of patients throughout their hospital stay – from admission through to discharge and everything in between, and in some case beyond discharge!
“I became a pharmacist after UCLan came into promote their new pharmacy degree course at Cardinal Newman College when I was in Sixth Form. I went to the university open day and got a flair for what a career in pharmacy involves. I’ve never looked back.
“I’m really proud to work in Pharmacy at ELHT. I think we have the right culture, and are incredibly progressive, and deliver outstanding care. We nurture our pharmacists to be effective pharmacists. I did my pre-registration year here and left to experience residency pharmacy at Arrowe Park Hospital, which I really enjoyed, and subsequently returned after two years to take over the lead pharmacist role for Antimicrobials and Critical Care. It’s rewarding to come into work every day.
“If someone is interested in a career in pharmacy, explore what opportunities are out there – there are many. A good place to look is on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s webpage.”
Alistair Gray is ELHT’s Clinical Services Lead Pharmacist and has worked in the Trust since 2002 having previously been a community pharmacist with Boots. Alistair says:
“Due to the investment made by ELHT in our pharmacy service over the last four years, we have introduced what we call our ‘Dedicated Ward Pharmacy’ service. This is where wards have the right amount of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy assistants to provide an outstanding safe, personal and effective service. In most case this means there is a pharmacist on just one ward all day, and they take part in the consultant-led, multidisciplinary ward round. They make sure the right medicines are prescribed at the right times and right doses, and that a safe transition into and out of hospital occurs, so patients have the right medicines and information when they need them; and GPs, community pharmacists and other clinicians have this information too.
“I chose pharmacy because of my interest in biosciences and also (although I didn’t realise it at the time) because I have a strong desire to make things better – in this case our pharmacy service.
“Working as a pharmacist in ELHT is incredibly varied. We have around 30 junior pharmacists who cover wards and our on-call service out of hours. Our 30 middle-grade pharmacists are involved in quality improvement work in their individual clinical directorates, and we have senior pharmacists leading teams of pharmacists with support from our pharmacy technicians and assistants. We have some specialist roles e.g. chemotherapy, the domiciliary medicines support team, neonatology, and some of our pharmacists review patients in out-patient clinics in Dermatology and Cardiology.
“Pharmacy is great fun and intellectually challenging. You can see some of the things that we have been up to if you Google the terms #DedicatedWardPharmacy and Refer-to-Pharmacy; and you can follow us on social media @ReferToPharmacy and @ELHTPharmacy amongst others”