UKCPA launches emergency care group
Pharmacists can contribute to keeping patients out of hospital and preventing inappropriate admissions, Nicola Wake, lead pharmacist, medicine, told delegates at the launch of the UKCPA emergency care practice interest group. The launch took place at the UK
Clinical Pharmacy Association spring symposium held in Birmingham last weekend.
Over the past 18 months, pharmacists with an interest in emergency care
have been able to share their experiences through an electronic newsgroup.
This has attracted over 30 participants and identified common areas of
clinical interest, such as rapid tranquillisation policies, analgesia
protocols and outpatient deep vein thrombosis management. Organisational
issues, including the use of pharmacy technicians in accident and emergency
and medical admissions units, have also been topics for discussion.
The “Reforming emergency care” programme, launched by the
Department of Health in 2001, called for simpler, more streamlined access
to emergency services, including more primary care based services for
minor complaints. Mrs Wake pointed out that emergency care is delivered
in a wide range of settings including medical and surgical admissions
units, clinical decision units, minor injuries units, walk-in centres,
NHS Direct, by the Territorial Army and by ambulance teams, in addition
to primary care and A&E units. A key objective for emergency care
services is to improve access to treatment for patients, she added — which
is an area in which pharmacists can contribute.
The new group will be led by a steering group of nine pharmacists, chaired
by Mrs Wake. Plans are already in hand for a series of workshops at the
November UKCPA symposium. Topics will include adverse drug events that
cause hospital admissions, A&E pharmacy services and ways to keep
patients out of hospital. “This group is about pharmacists and
technicians working together so that people are not developing services
in isolation,” said Mrs Wake.
Pharmacists who wish to join the emergency care practice interest group
should contact Mrs Wake (Nicola.wake@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk).
| New UKCPA chairman Helena Hodges, Royal United Hospital, Bath,
was elected chairman of the UKCPA on 8 May. She takes over from
Philip Howard, St James’s University Hospital, Leeds, who
has been chairman for the past three years. Under new organisational
arrangements,
Ms Hodges will serve for one year.
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