Scottish Pharmacy Awards 2020
Celebrating all the work of our pharmacy heroes during the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19
Unfortunately due to updated government guidelines we are unable to celebrate all your hard work and dedication in person
Instead, this year the awards will be held virtually on the same date as planned – 25th November 2020
Watch out for updates and the announcement of the winners on:
In the meantime, meet our Scottish Pharmacy Awards 2020 finalists…
Sponsored by – Napp Pharmaceuticals Limited
Sponsored by – Ethypharm UK
Sponsored by – The Pharmacists’ Defence Association
Sponsored by – Teva UK
Sponsored by – Ethypharm UK
Sponsored by – Johnson & Johnson
Sponsored by – Scothealthcare.com
Sponsored by – Cegedim Healthcare Solutions
Innovations in Prescribing, Quality and Efficiency in Scotland
Sponsored by Napp Pharmaceuticals Limited
NHS Tayside
Dr Andrew Radley and Team, HCV
NHS Tayside
This project aimed to establish a care pathway in community pharmacy, to enable people who inject drugs to obtain a cure for hepatitis C (HCV), without needing to access any other healthcare facility. The team engaged with 56 community pharmacies and trained them to test, diagnose, assess for treatment and deliver a cure for HCV using direct-acting antiviral drugs.
Pharmacy staff were trained to take a capillary blood sample from patients. This was posted to the local laboratory for analysis of antibodies for HCV, hepatitis B and HIV, and the pharmacies received back the results.
For patients who showed antibodies for HCV, the team organised for a nurse to visit the pharmacy and take a further series of safety bloods to evaluate the patient as suitable for treatment.
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
Alan McGeer and the High Dose Opioid Reduction Project
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
The initiative was actioned following focus being brought to analgesic (and in particular, opioid) prescribing in the health board after the pain guidelines were updated and a recommended daily opioid milligram cap was introduced. This ceiling of opioid prescribing was set at 120mg oral morphine equivalent – prescribing above these levels was advised as incurring significant risk, with little or no therapeutic benefit.
In light of this, Alan was incentivised to identify, review and potentially reduce the prescribing of opioids in patients prescribed 120mg+ oral morphine equivalent.
In total, 29 patients were identified and lettered to make an appointment for a medication review. Alan subsequently reviewed the majority of patients, but in cases where he was not available, they were initially seen by the GP and passed to him.
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
Jane Hall and the De-Prescribing in the Frail Elderly Team
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
From the outset, the team were motivated to reduce inappropriate polypharmacy in a cohort of frail, elderly patients – a branch of individuals who would benefit most from a decline in associated harm – with a focus on de-prescribing inappropriate or unnecessary medications. Further objectives included the development of closer working relationships between the practice clinical pharmacy team and the prescribers in the GP practice, and the promoted utilisation of the complex patients list which is available to all practices in Ayrshire & Arran to enable them to identify their most frail patients.
GPs conducted a full, holistic review of all medications and identified medications that could be de-prescribed using the principles outlined in Realistic Medicine, while patients were also invited for a face-to-face review or a telephone consultation.
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
Lyndsay McCubbin and Team Reviewing and De-Prescribing of ONS Products
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
The work undertaken has been in line with the aim of reviewing all patients prescribed oral nutritional supplements and either switching them to formulary choice or discontinuing where no longer indicated. The project is a pharmacy technician-led review looking at all patients prescribed oral nutritional supplements.
Additional goals entailed working with the specialised practice dietitian, and successfully implementing a programme for a new pathway in pharmaceutical care, delivering a more patient-centred service. Meeting local and national guidelines, changes were applied to ensure the delivery of a comprehensive, high quality service.
At all times the quality of patient care was prioritised first, while cost-effectiveness, waste and reducing prescription numbers within the practice were also reviewed.
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
Mary Ann Campbell and the East Renfrewshire Medication Support Service
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
The pharmacy technician-led service delivers comprehensive medicines support for adult patients residing in the community. This includes medicines reconciliation for patients who have recently come out of hospital, or who have been referred to the service. Referrals may be made by GPs, any member of the health and social care team, acute service colleagues, or patients can also self-refer.
The pharmacy technicians’ role incorporates the provision of expert medication advice to patients, family or carers to support them to manage their medicines safely and independently at home, leading to bolstered health and improved quality of life.
In addition to supporting patients with the practicalities of managing their medicines, the technicians take the time to listen to the individuals – ensuring that wider issues are identified.
Management of Substance Dependency in the Community
Ethypharm UK
Welcome Pharmacy, Creebridge Mill
Eleanor Fenton
Welcome Pharmacy, Creebridge Mill
Eleanor qualified as an IP just short of two years ago, expressing an interest in the area of substance dependency. Having recognised a local need for SDAS prescribing support – and that there was a gap in provision in the rural area – Eleanor started supporting people with substance dependency as an IP in March 2019, working one day per fortnight in clinic with SDAS. On completion of the IP course, she went on to study NES Common Clinical Conditions in order to run a pilot clinic from her community pharmacy on behalf of NHS Dumfries & Galloway.
On developing the service level agreement between NHS Dumfries & Galloway and her community pharmacy, it was identified that Eleanor’s addition to the SDAS team would be to deliver a holistic approach to patient care with quicker and easier access to treatment. Additionally, the focus was on making the ethical care of the patient the top priority, promoting evidenced-based medicine, taking into account clinical judgement, patient preferences and relevant scientific evidence.
NHS Lanarkshire
Elizabeth Marr and Clair Smith
NHS Lanarkshire
The team have been working with three GP practices to identify patients who are either on above recommended doses of opiate painkillers or over-using their prescribed opiates, and reducing their dose to the minimum required. Meanwhile, for people whose original illness has recovered, the painkiller has been discontinued altogether, and in the last year, the service has experienced change in which patients can now self-refer.
Reflective of the team’s collaborative ethos, multidisciplinary working has played an integral role in the service. For example, Pain Scotland presented on their self-help groups. Furthermore, the local GP practices felt that this group of patients were better managed as a result of 20-to-30-minute appointments being allocated which extended the time in which the individuals could be seen and listened to.
The surgeries involved have now been able to implement good prescribing practice for opiates and have clear treatment strategies for managing these patients.
Peterhead
The Buchanhaven Pharmacy Team
Peterhead
Serving a very mixed demographic of individuals, Buchanhaven Pharmacy are consistent and compassionate in their provision of care to substance dependency patients. In particular, the group of three independent prescribers deliver assistance to a group of up to 36 patients.
Over the years, the service has evolved from a supplementary prescribing model with one pharmacist and up to just 12 patients to what it is today. The pharmacists eagerly take up every opportunity to further develop their training and skills to constantly improve the service which is offered to this client group.
Examples of this are injection technique, wound management, consultation skills, hepatitis testing and treatment and use of naloxone. Additionally, the whole staff team have completed an emergency first aid qualification.
Throughout the obstacles of COVID-19, the team’s robust set of SOPs have been reviewed and updated, while all of the staff have been completing a monthly training programme.
Glenrothes
The Superdrug Pharmacy Team
Glenrothes
The Superdrug pharmacy team in Glenrothes have enhanced their participation in substance dependency services, supporting 50 per cent more patients in the area than they did last year, and are working to further increase this capacity to meet the demands of the local area.
Although not a new service to the pharmacy or team, under new leadership a number of changes have been made to make managing the service more efficient.
Physical changes have been applied to the layout of the pharmacy in the last 12 months to create an appropriate area for supervision. This has included the installation of a new hatch with a specific counter where patients can receive their medication in a discreet area of the store, and the introduction of a methameasure system to ensure efficient and safe dispensing of high volume methadone. The team also now participate in naloxone supply and are proactive in ensuring that patients feel able to ask for help when they need it.
Student Leadership Award
Sponsored by The Pharmacists’ Defence Association
Robert Gordon University
Jenna Morrison
Robert Gordon University
During her time as leader of the Pharmacy Law and Ethics Group, Jenna has adapted to the changes imposed on the workings of the group as a result of COVID-19. Recognising the need for enhanced online communication, Jenna set about transitioning their annual debate online and strengthening their utilisation of technology.
Jenna’s responsibilities enable her to communicate effectively with the group; sharing ideas and discussing important ethical issues involving pharmacy and the wider healthcare environment. Showcasing the emphasis she places on teamwork, Jenna also ensures that all voices are heard and views considered.
University of Strathclyde
Dima Humoud
University of Strathclyde
As a result of the challenges encountered this year, Dima has strengthened her potential as a decision-maker. By taking risks, she has not only improved her knowledge and skills in pharmacy, but her character and understanding of other people too.
In particular, as a national representative for the BPSA, and volunteering to do ‘lecture shout-outs’, Dima has continued to employ her role for the benefit of her fellow students.
As a member of the Social Mobility Foundation and a Robertson Trust Scholar, Dima has also embraced many opportunities to mentor and advise younger students.
Robert Gordon University
Jack Murphy
Robert Gordon University
Jack was heavily involved in the launch of the BPSA’s annual mental health campaign at Robert Gordon University. Eager to positively interact with his fellow students and start open discussions, Jack created a platform on social media and organised a flagship event held on campus which consisted of a stall at the entrance to the university.
In his role as administrator of the bpsascotland Instagram account, Jack successfully gained over 200 pharmacy student followers in a matter of days following the event; utilising the tool as an opportunity for signposting resources and support materials for those struggling.
Robert Gordon University
Jennifer Pryor
Robert Gordon University
Prior to enrolling at Robert Gordon University, Jennifer was a clinical nurse specialist in acute pain management so when the IPE society (of which she was a member of the committee) was planning the Journey of the Surgical Patient event, her input proved hugely valuable.
Although unable to attend the event herself, Jennifer organised two face-to-face teaching sessions, a number of resources, and contributed to a group chat for the pharmacy students who would be delivering the presentation. The topics discussed included the importance of regular pain assessment, the World Health Organisation analgesic ladder, and analgesic adjuvants.
University of Strathclyde
Sagarika Ojha
University of Strathclyde
As the BPSA representative for the University of Strathclyde, Sagarika was at the helm of three BPSA competitions. Throughout the process, ‘lecture shout-outs’ were identified as an advantageous promotional method – in which Sagarika exercised her communication skills – while other responsibilities undertaken included booking the dispensary, emailing staff to help as volunteer patients, and allocating time slots to students.
Sagarika has also engaged in long-term mentoring through the Outward Bound Leadership Course, which incorporated a series of difficult academic and physical activities, such as gorge walking, mountain climbing and making boats to then sail on.
Robert Gordon University
This year as the vice president and now co-president of the Robert Gordon University Pharmacy Society, Vivien led the society in joining the union after decades working separately. This has allowed the society, and thus pharmacy students at the university, to access greater support and opportunities. While undertaking this work, Vivien developed all of the descriptions for each job role, so that those applying had a clear idea of what each post entailed.
Additionally, as the secretary, and now current Robert Gordon University president, of the IPE society, Vivien designed a mock medicine case study, conducted a presentation, and completed a polypharmacy review.
Respiratory Project of the year
Sponsored by Teva UK
Cadham Pharmacy Health Centre, Glenrothes
Bernadette Brown
Cadham Pharmacy Health Centre, Glenrothes
Bernadette continuously works to fulfill her vision of changing the hearts and minds of the public – gaining their trust to support them to look after themselves better with their long-term health conditions in which prevention is at the heart of her thinking.
Bernadette works with seven GP practices, who have all agreed that she can look after their patients with acute asthma or COPD exacerbations, and support them thereafter in their long-term management of their breathing and quality of life.
For example, Bernadette has lent her expert assistance to Alison who lives alone and, during COVID in particular, has been struggling, not just with her breathing, but with her mental health and wellbeing. As a result, Bernadette has supported her with checking her inhaler technique and conducting a medicines review; providing lessons on breathing style, and helping Alison practice until she was able to remember the long, slow, deep and steady breaths required to attain maximum benefit from these mist inhalers. Refill time and how long to shake the canister were subsequently discussed too.
Over the last four years Bernadette has built up a portfolio of case studies evidencing that what she is achieving for asthma patients is sustainable, and that the changes the public are choosing to make are life-long habits. With this in mind, a FeNO Niox machine was invested in and added to her asthma clinic checklist.
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
The Respiratory Fast-Forward Prescribing Group
It was widely recognised that pulmonary rehabilitation is the only non-pharmacological evidence-based treatment for COPD which enhances the quality of life for patients along with improvement in self-sufficiency. Therefore, it was agreed that the transformational change be directed towards the pulmonary rehabilitation resource in NHS Ayrshire & Arran.
A work programme was devised under the sponsorship of the Respiratory Fast-Forward Prescribing Group, incorporating members of the community pharmacy and prescribing teams, a hospital pharmacist, the respiratory clinical nurse specialists, physiotherapy lead, public health representative, respiratory consultant and MCN manager. The group, chaired by a GP member with interest in respiratory, commenced implementing a comprehensive action plan to address prescribing while also acknowledging and seeking to address the need to provide support through other therapies and interventions that would benefit the patient.
The actions included targeting particular patient groups overusing short acting beta agonist inhalers; having prescribing teams work alongside nurses to ensure compliance with formulary, and appropriate switching and education of patients on respiratory medicines.
To support the primary care respiratory prescribing initiative, a community pharmacy respiratory project was initiated which aimed to improve patient outcomes through a clinical review in the pharmacy to assess patients’ inhaler techniques, provide targeted information about relevant services available to patients, and promote the use of the local Asthma Action Plan (where appropriate).
Townhead Pharmacy, Kilwinning
Sam Falconer
Townhead Pharmacy, Kilwinning
Two types of respiratory clinics are run within the pharmacy. Firstly, the team perform spirometry tests to aid in the diagnosis of patients with new respiratory problems, and work closely with the specialist respiratory nurse to analyse spirometry results and initiate appropriate treatment.
As well as this, they conduct reviews for patients who have COPD and asthma to ensure that their conditions are being managed and that their medication is optimised. Patients are identified for a review according to whether they have used more than 12 ‘reliever’ inhalers in the previous 12 months. These patients’ prescriptions are subsequently highlighted, with the team making a point of discussing their treatment when they collect their medication. They explore the reasons for their overuse of SABAs and offer advice on inhaler technique, dosage etc. If appropriate, their inhalers / treatment can be altered by an independent pharmacist prescriber and the patient will be asked to return for a review to assess the impact of the change.
Although spirometry assessments and face-to-face clinics were halted due to COVID-19 restrictions, the pharmacy endeavoured to continue discussing patients’ respiratory medications at every opportunity that arose – including via telephone calls and Near Me consultations.
With the pandemic triggering issues with sourcing certain inhalers due to increased demand, as a prescribing pharmacist, Sam has been able to recommend alternative devices and treatment options where necessary and counsel patients accordingly.
Hospital Pharmacy Team of the Year
Sponsored by Ethypharm UK
NHS Tayside
Arlene Shaw and Team Smoking Cessation Referral Pathway
NHS Tayside
The team have significantly boosted health outcomes as a result of their involvement in the respiratory outpatients clinic at Ninewells Hospital in which the pharmacist prescribers have worked to enhance the care of patients with COPD.
They engaged with pharmacy public health colleagues and Community Pharmacy Tayside to design a pathway whereby hospital patients would receive a brief intervention from their consultant, advising them to stop smoking. The patients were referred from the clinic to their local community pharmacy and provided with a starter pack of varenicline. It was subsequently advised that they contact their pharmacist before they had completed the pack and present their referral letter which requested that the pharmacist took over the care of the respiratory outpatient.
NHS Lothian
The Critical Care Medicines Response Team
NHS Lothian
The Critical Care Medicines Response Team was created rapidly in response to the predicted increase in critical care bed base from 50-to-90, with the potential to increase further, across three hospital sites during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The skillmix of the team was carefully balanced and was composed of highly specialised critical care pharmacists, ‘returning to practice’ pharmacists who had previously worked in critical care, the head of Medicines Procurement and Distribution, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, the lead pharmacist, Pharmacologistics Service, NHS Lothian, a pharmacy systems analyst and the principal pharmacist, Education and Training, NHS Lothian.
The team were extremely organised, with cross-site resilience and business continuity planning for the pharmacy service to critical care units, and through their keen utilisation of video conferencing.
NHS Lothian
Elaine Rankine and the Education, Research and Development Team
NHS Lothian
Through the provision of secondment opportunities, the well-established team have successfully built education, training and research capability and capacity across the pharmacy service.
The team has taken on a leadership role at a strategic and operational level across the single pharmacy system in NHS Lothian, in the design and delivery of nationally-accredited educational qualifications and programmes – ensuring that the infrastructure is in place to support learning and assessment in the workplace which meets standards of national professional and academic accreditation bodies.
Notably, they proactively lead research and service development programmes and collaborate with other multidisciplinary research teams within NHS Lothian, other partner NHS Boards and academic institutions, and pursue opportunities for new partnership arrangements that lead to improvements in patient care.
NHS Grampian
The Substance Misuse Pharmacists
NHS Grampian
Fiona Raeburn and Lucy Skea possess a combined experience of almost 30 years as specialist pharmacists in substance misuse, flying the flag for pharmacy. Their roles sit in the mental health pharmacy team but on a day-to-day basis requires multidisciplinary, multi-agency working across Grampian and nationally, from clinical teams to police, from pain to hepatology teams, and with people with lived experience in local communities.
They provide leadership on effective medicines management and service delivery to community pharmacy, clinical teams (both drug and alcohol and wider teams) and primary care. More importantly, as a team they strive to continually develop services in support of people who use drugs or alcohol who are often marginalised and stigmatised, and whose long-term health and social outcomes are poor.
NHS Lanarkshire
The Surgical and Anaesthetic Clinical Pharmacy Team
NHS Lanarkshire
The service delivered by the team is managed by two highly experienced clinical pharmacists who develop the work to critical care, surgery and orthopaedics. Three band seven pharmacists support the team and together they provide a clinical pharmacy service to acute surgical receiving, elective surgery, trauma, gynaecology and intensive care.
The team distribute indispensable advice to clinicians and the full multidisciplinary team within these specialties, and liaise closely with pre-assessment, theatres and the centralised bowel screening service for Lanarkshire. They are also responsible for providing training to eight rotational band six pharmacists, pre-registration pharmacists and pharmacy students from Scottish universities.
Adapting to COVID-19, the team lent additional support to mentor non-surgical / ITU pharmacists and several primary care pharmacists who attended for refresher / upskill training.
Excellence in Delivering Self-care Agenda in Community Pharmacy
Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson
Glenrothes
The Cadham Pharmacy Team
Glenrothes
For Bernadette and the pharmacy team, focussing on the agenda of self-care has been increasingly important in these challenging times, when access to face-to-face consultations with GPs and nurses is difficult for patients. In particular, the pharmacy are committed to promoting services that will ultimately lead to a care treatment plan, which will encompass advice, purchasing product, private prescriptions and NHS treatment dispensing on the presenting complaint and long-term medical condition.
Ensuring that nobody is excluded in reaching out to the team for help and support has been crucial. As a result, an array of means for contact suitable for different age groups has been implemented, such as Healthera, which enables smart communication by text; Rocketo, messaging which even works with old phones; the Intellia phone system, which allows the team to change messages and educate the public; and an online booking system which supports individuals in accessing services. Three team members are also in place to support all enquiries that reach the pharmacy through the modes of communication, while more front-of-shop, face-to-face staff are being safely utilised.
Bernadette is also extremely passionate about self-care in the long-term disease of asthma and over a two-year collaboration period has had numerous case studies relating to it published on Let’s Talk Respiratory. Delivering care to patients, Bernadette crafts treatment plans with goals and regular follow-up until the patient achieves control and then they can do the rest.
Balintore
The Right Medicine Pharmacy Team
Balintore
Serving a small village who rely on the local pharmacy, the team place great significance on focussing on the needs of the community and seeking out ways in which they can better support them.
The team have pursued a number of paths for encouraging individuals to embrace self-care in light of the pandemic, such as their vitamin range promotion – identifying that securing necessary vitamin D levels during lockdown has been increasingly difficult. The display was therefore installed close to the pharmacy’s entrance, being prominent for people to see and then ask about.
Another area which they homed in on was de-stress products and bath salts as many patients often speak about aches and pains, but also because individuals have been walking more so the need was very much there. The team have successfully sourced both a premium brand and a budget brand to ensure that the community’s needs are fulfilled, while they also participate in conversations with patients about de-stress techniques and the benefits of employing meditation and music to further help.
Despite the need to social distance, the pharmacy have heavily promoted to patients stop smoking services during COVID-19, and in the build-up to the flu season have homed in on the flu service to the community to ensure that people are kept safe and healthy during the colder months.
Mearns Cross
The Superdrug Pharmacy Team
Mearns Cross
The healthcare offering in Superdrug Mearns Cross was enhanced recently as part of a major store extension and refit. There is an extensive range of healthy lifestyle products available and clearly categorised to make it easy for customers to navigate and these are co-located in the designated ‘Health Hub’ area of the store where the dispensary, pharmacy counter, consulting room and nurse clinic are also located.
The pharmacy team are fully engaged with the Scottish pharmacy contract and endeavour to ensure that the pharmacy is the first port-of-call for the local community to access healthcare services, whether these are private or through the NHS pharmacy contract. The signage outside the store bears the NHS Scotland logo on the list of pharmacy services to ensure that patients are fully aware of the offerings available.
Furthermore, self-care is driven through extensive participation in MAS / Pharmacy First in which the pharmacy had over 1,100 patients registered for MAS when this existed; 28 per cent higher than the local area average and 95 per cent above the national average. The team in Superdrug also have increased smoking cessation participation in the last 12 months by 25 per cent, as well as delivering all other contracted services. In terms of private services designed to keep people well, last year they delivered over 700 flu vaccinations via a private PGD.
Community Pharmacist of the Year
Sponsored by Scothealthcare.com
Boots Largs, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
Chrishna Goyal
Boots Largs, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
Chrishna works to the top of his license as a community pharmacist and delivers all the services available from national and local contracts. In addition, he is an independent pharmacist prescriber and over the past five years has established a busy hypertension clinic in his community pharmacy and has developed an excellent working relationship with Brooksby Medical Practice in Largs.
Chrishna has also supported contraceptive and flu vaccination clinics from community pharmacy and is working to enhance his skills to provide common clinical condition clinics as part of the new Pharmacy First Plus service. As well as this, he is at the helm of a successful smoking cessation service and has supported NHS Ayrshire & Arran Health Board with training events centring on this topic.
Eager to see the future of the sector flourish, Chrishna is a tutor for the Pre-Registration Pharmacist Scheme, having assisted and supported 11 pharmacists over the last 12 years.
Rowlands Pharmacy, NHS Lothian
Pamela Chisholm
Rowlands Pharmacy, NHS Lothian
Pamela has been the lead pharmacist for the Lothian Palliative Care Network since May 2010, and a participant of the network since November 2000 – widely recognised for her dedicated and enthusiastic approach to her unfaltering work ethic.
From the outset of the pandemic, Pamela ensured that all community pharmacies in the network had up-to-date palliative care stocklists and increased stockholding; that medicine supply issues were identified and resolved; and that a robust on-call service was available to support GPs providing out-of-hours care.
Pamela joined the Lothian palliative care COVID-19 multidisciplinary group, sharing her knowledge and expertise, and communicating revised clinical and medicines supply guidance to the network of community pharmacies. Making herself available for peer support to the network of on-call pharmacists, Pam’s professionalism, organisational skills, and deep desire to care for patients has been clear for all to see.
Buchanhaven Pharmacy, NHS Grampian
Elizabeth Marr and Clair Smith
NHS Lanarkshire
Working with two GP practices, the team’s objective has been to identify patients who are either on above recommended doses of opiate painkillers or over-using their prescribed opiates, following which assistance would be supplied by reducing their dose to the minimum required. Additionally, for people whose original illness has recovered, the painkiller was to be discontinued altogether.
A variety of methods have been adopted in order to develop the programme among the staff, such as conducting meetings to brainstorm; reading other trials around the same patient group; and holding a training day for prescribing support pharmacists.
The impact of their work on the wider healthcare team has been exceptional, and the surgeries involved have now been able to implement good prescribing practice for opiates.
Whithorn Pharmacy, NHS Dumfries & Galloway
Fiona McElrea
Whithorn Pharmacy, NHS Dumfries & Galloway
Fiona has continuously expressed a focused commitment to the development of pharmaceutical care and services for patients in Wigtownshire, and beyond.
She is always seeking the next thing which can enhance the patient’s relationship with their medicines; for example, she has been a driving force for the roll-out of the Chronic Medication Service in the region and an early adopter of NHS Near Me for pharmacist-led patient consultations.
Fiona completed her IP training through the University of Strathclyde in early September 2020, and is now planning the implementation of common clinical conditions clinics through the Pharmacy First Plus service.
As the first community pharmacist to provide a private flu vaccination service in Dumfries & Galloway, Fiona continues to deliver this service annually and has rolled it out in other pharmacies, supporting her pharmacist colleagues with their training. Fiona is additionally keen to support the provision of the NHS flu vaccination service this year.
Community Pharmacy Practice of the Year
Inverness
Lochardil Pharmacy
Inverness
The pharmacy opened in 2013 as a new contract, with the team now completing 10,000 items per month – demonstrative of the strength of their work ethic and unwavering care for patients.
The pharmacy was designed with a huge dispensary and with the vision of being a modern setting, comprising two treatment rooms and four PMR systems. Both are fully equipped for all types of testing and an array of services are regularly carried out, including diabetes checks, strep throat testing, and a range of vaccinations.
All staff duties rotate on a weekly basis which protects their service provision from illness and, more recently, COVID-19, and the potential for staff having to isolate. This is an essential part of the pharmacy’s continuity plan and ensures that they always have a skillset available to conduct every available process on a day-to-day basis.
Winchburgh
Right Medicine Pharmacy
Winchburgh
The pharmacy relocated from its former home to a brand-new unit which has not only substantially enhanced the space for dispensing, but also presented the ability to provide more patient services, with two modern consultation rooms.
Investment in technology for the benefit of patients has been – and continues to be – key to the development of Right Medicine Pharmacy. For example, the introduction of a 24 / 7 prescription collection point has increased dramatically the access to medicines for the wider community; allowing patients to be able to collect prescriptions at a time which suits them, and granting them a better idea as to when their prescription is ready.
Additionally, the employment of Healthera has been advantageous – an off-the-shelf app which helps with managing regular repeats of medication, and facilitates reminders to order or take medicines, as well as a messaging option to allow queries to be sent to the pharmacy without the need to call in.
Glenrothes
Superdrug Pharmacy
Glenrothes
Superdrug Pharmacy is long-established in the Kingdom Centre in Glenrothes – first opening its doors 21 years ago. Notably, over the past 12 months the team have flourished in their mission to improve the overall performance of the pharmacy in terms of physical layout and appearance, volume and commerciality, and, most significantly, patient care.
In particular, the implementation of a few changes has made a huge difference to the flow of the dispensary. These measures have included relocating the Methameasure terminal, installing a hatch with a separate counter in a discreet area of the pharmacy for supervision services, moving and removing shelfing to change the position of the PMR terminals, and adding in some extra storage.
These physical adaptions, along with implementing dispensing Xcellence (a tried and tested way of managing dispensary workload), have transformed the pharmacy, the service which the team provides, and their morale as a whole.
Mearns Cross
Superdrug Pharmacy
Mearns Cross
The Superdrug Pharmacy in Mearns Cross is located in the Avenue Shopping Centre in Newton Mearns, and has served the local community seven days a week for over 20 years.
With the pharmacy having outgrown the size of its four walls, it was clear that investment was needed to ensure that the premises were fit-for-purpose. As a result, in late 2019 a major refit of the store was undertaken, including expanding the total store into two shop units. The result of this refit was a new, purpose-built pharmacy, consultation room and nurse clinic, enabling the team in Mearns Cross to continue to meet the needs of their patients.
The resulting dispensary has meant that all dispensing, including the 200 MDS, can now be commenced from the same location. The additional storage and checking space also make it easier for the pharmacists to safely pause their checking and deliver services when patients need them.
Innovative Use of Technology in Community Pharmacy
Sponsored by Cegedim Healthcare Solutions
M Farren Ltd
Allana Wilson
M Farren Ltd
As a company with 14 branches, a warehouse and an office, the team recognised the value of adopting an electronic system that was easy to use from design to branch usage; fully GDPR compliant to allow them to gather and store information; and which allowed head office to have an end system that was fully auditable. Additional benefits have included the system’s utilisation of online cloud forms to collect the data, and the fact that it can be employed to create both visual and excel reports depending on what is required.
Still within the trial stage, the team currently employ the system to evaluate understanding of health and safety training within a few branches by designing an assessment which is accessed via a link within the training. It has also been used for electronic online risk assessments, which can be completed in branches by the managers and seen by head office, which ensures compliance at branch level in that head office can ensure that actions raised are completed in a timely manner.
A stream of efficiency improvements have been secured as a result of this technology, especially the reduction of the amount of time spent chasing branches for information, as all branches will submit the same data in the same format, and the system can be set up to send a PDF copy of the submission back to the branch.
Kirkcaldy, Fife
The Wellbeing Pharmacies Group
Kirkcaldy, Fife
Identifying the merits attained from developing their own cost-effective in-house solution to the rising needs of the sector, the group approached a UK-based manufacturer to collaborate with in order to create a bespoke product specifically for their pharmacies. They also successfully applied for a Scottish Enterprise ‘By Design’ grant to support this work.
After 12 months of development the prototype Medpoint collection machine was installed in their High Wycombe Pharmacy in February 2019, with a further three machines implemented in other branches, and a plan currently underway to put one in place in the Kirkcaldy, Fife branch in early 2021. Due to demand they have prioritised external customers to help fund product development so have already installed two Medpoints in Scotland with a further three scheduled later in 2020.
As a result of the success, the team took the decision to set up a separate company to become the only UK-based pharmacy automation supplier to enable them to develop the product further and market the MedPoint machines across the UK.
With the onset of the pandemic, the urgent need for a more rapidly deployable solution to take the pressure of their busier health centre pharmacies was recognised. Within the space of seven weeks the team worked with their manufacturing partner to develop an entirely freestanding temperature-controlled model of the MedPoint which could be installed on any flat area of ground – named the MedPoint SOLO.
Largs
The Superdrug Pharmacy Team
Largs
The Superdrug pharmacy app was launched primarily for use with patients in England alongside EPS. Quickly identifying the benefits to patients and GP practice colleagues, as well as the significant advantages to pharmacy operations, the decision was made to include the 10 Scottish Superdrug pharmacies in the initial roll-out.
This roll-out occurred at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and although this was operationally challenging, it was realised that this was the right thing to do in order for Superdrug to support their patients when they needed it most.
The app allows patients to manage the ordering of their repeat medicines and book appointments with the pharmacy for a range of services, including flu vaccinations. It also boasts features to assist with compliance – including reminders to take medicines and knowing when it’s time to reorder – and enables patients to track the progress of prescription ordering; alerting them when a prescription is ready to collect.
Since the introduction of the Superdrug app in April 2020, over 1,900 users have been registered in Scotland alone. That is 1,900 patients (plus any registered dependents) that no longer have to interact with GP surgeries or pharmacies to order repeat prescriptions and no longer make trips to the pharmacy before their prescription is completed, thus supporting social distancing. In addition, that is 1,900 patients who are utilising the app to support compliance with medicine-taking and management.
