The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7477 p530
10 November 2007

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• Retention fees
• Concessionary fees
• Pack sizes (5)
• Prescribing
• Controlled drugs
• Hospital infections
• Wholesalers
• Locum pharmacy
• BPC

Letters to the Editor

Hospital infections

Regular review can avoid outbreaks

From Ms K. J. Ball, MRPharmS

I was interested to read the letter from Gemma Battrum from Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (PJ, 3 November, p500).

At West Cumberland Hospital the clinical pharmacists meet regularly with the consultant microbiologist to review antibiotic usage and Clostridium difficile rates.

It is unthinkable that we would suffer verbal abuse from any medical colleagues for implementing the antibiotic formulary or monitoring compliance, since the clinical pharmacists are seen as an essential part of the consultant team and their opinion is highly valued

Aided and abetted by the microbiology and infection control teams, we work to minimise the possibility of patients contracting methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and C difficile with excellent results. Our MRSA and C difficile rates are some of the lowest in the country.

Part of the essential role of clinical pharmacists and technicians is to ensure that patients are receiving the antibiotics appropriate to their condition and for an appropriate duration — every day, not just as a reaction to a crisis.

Kathryn Ball
Deputy Chief Pharmacist
West Cumberland Hospital

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