Hospital Pharmacist
Vol 10 No 1 p5
January 2003

News summary

Innovation and quality award presented to pharmacy team at Broomfield Hospital

The pharmacy team at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, has been chosen as the overall winner of a new innovation and quality award scheme launched by Mid Essex Hospitals Trust.

The awards are presented to hospital staff who have introduced schemes that improve the quality of hospital services in clinical and non-clinical areas.

The pharmacy team was granted the award for its project, "A pharmacy service for the 21st century". The project was designed to modernise the pharmacy service and also to make effective use of skills and resources. The ultimate aim was to focus the pharmacy service around the needs of the patient.

Glynis Griffiths, chief pharmacy technician at Broomfield Hospital, told Hospital Pharmacist that the project involved a number of workforce development initiatives. A training programme was developed for pharmacy assistants that enabled them to become senior assistants with responsibility for dispensing. Extra training was also provided for technicians to facilitate their extended roles. A number of technicians have become "accredited checking technicians" with responsibility for checking dispensed items that have been clinically screened by a pharmacist. These technicians have also been given the option of further training to enable them to work alongside pharmacists on the wards.

Mrs Griffiths said: "The innovations we have introduced have resulted in increased job satisfaction for pharmacy staff and more opportunities for training and career advancement." She said that the benefits the project has brought to patients include an increased level of information about their medicines and a reduction in delays at the time of discharge from hospital.

Mrs Griffiths said: "Whereas acute general hospitals across the country have problems recruiting pharmacy staff, we are now fully staffed for the first time in many years. This is an indication of the quality of the improvements we have made."

The pharmacy team was awarded with a cup to mark their achievements and also received £3,000 to spend within the pharmacy department.