Pharmacy project highlighted at NHS Live event
Although many patients from ethnic minorities speak English, they
may need help to understand medical jargon |
A pharmacy project on multicultural concordance was one of only four
projects presented in the “live stage” area at the NHS
Live national event, held in London last week.
The project is called Umda Dawa, which is the Urdu phrase for “good
medicine”. It has been developed by two practice pharmacists at
Bristol North Primary Care Trust and aims to support patients from black
and ethnic minority communities, largely South Asian, by providing access
to advice on medicines and improved management of medicines, especially
for people with long-term conditions.
The pharmacists go out to meet local people in community centres,community
groups and mosques to find out what sort of information they need.
One of the pharmacists, Saeed Kamal, said: “I can speak five languages
myself and although
many South Asians speak English they can’t understand the jargon
or medical language when they are given a prescription. It means that
they may not understand why they need the medicine or how long or how
often to take it. They may not understand what the possible side effects
are.”
The pharmacists are also able to act as patient advocates at GP surgery
visits and plan to hold their own clinics in the community.
Joel Hirst, a member of the PCT medicines management team, commented:
“Patients benefit more from their prescribed medication when they
understand and accept the diagnosis, agree with the treatment and have
been able to talk about their concerns. This project is aimed at supporting
people to make them feel more confident about their medicines.”
NHS Live is a national programme that supports local projects in health
and social care and brings people together in networks to learn from each
other.
John Williams, NHS Live programme manager, told The Journal that
ideas for improving health care originate from staff, are enhanced with
patient involvement and are developed by a team with support from the
primary care trust or hospital concerned, together with the NHS Live programme.
“There are a number of pharmacy-related projects in the programme,
all at different stages of development,” he said. “The Bristol
project has come a long way in a short time and looks set to be a success.” |
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