Community pharmacists to share best practice at NICE awards

Pharmacists working with vulnerable older people across Lambeth and Southwark will be sharing their expertise at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Shared Learning Awards in July.

The team of community health services pharmacists have been shortlisted from more than 70 entries. They will present the findings of their project on managing older patients’ medication at the awards event.

The project looks at the support given to older patients so they take their medicines correctly and avoid being admitted to hospital. The patients seen by the team are often frail, have complex health problems and are mostly over 75 and living alone.

Lelly Oboh, consultant pharmacist, says: “We work alongside community nurses, staff from the Enhanced Rapid Response Service, GPs, hospital staff and social care teams to co-ordinate the care we provide to older people.

“When older patients are discharged from hospital they may be confused about the medicine they should be taking. We visit patients at home, assess whether they need support to take their medicines, review their medicines, and arrange for GPs to make adjustments if necessary.

“We also work with community nurses to monitor the patient so we know that the medication is working properly.

“By joining up the way we manage the medicines given to older people we can reduce the amount of tablets which patients take every day. This means that we are providing the best possible care.”