Focus on technicians

Improving medicines management for older patients on the move

By Tracy Anne Sedgwick, RegTech

Providing seamless care to older patients accessing various health and social care facilities is particularly important. This article sets out the work of pharmacy technicians in Darlington who do just that, ensuring that medicines-related problems are kept to a minimum

Focus on technicians series

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Tracy Anne Sedgwick is senior pharmacy technician for intermediate care and medicines management at the Darlington Memorial Hospital, part of the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS trust, and at Darlington Primary Care Trust. She was also winner of the clinical pharmacy category of the 2005 AAH Hospital Pharmacy Technician of the Year Award

Tracy Anne Sedgwick

Tracy Anne Sedgwick,standing with her prize-winning poster at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists meeting in December 2005

SUMMARY

Older patients tend to take more medicines than younger patients. They also often have more points of access to medical and social care, for example, spending time at residential homes and hospitals, as well as in their own homes. This means that an integrated approach to medicines management is particularly important. The benefits of providing such care should include:

· Promoting faster recovery from illness

· Reducing unnecessary acute hospital admissions

· Supporting timely discharge

· Maximising independent living

In the Darlington area, consideration was therefore given to establishing a multidisciplinary team to provide integrated services to older patients (mainly those over 70 years old) who spend time at a residential home with 20 beds, which specialises in providing care for those who need temporary, rather than permanent, care (termed an intermediate care [IC] facility). Before the final decision to go ahead was made, a pilot study was carried out. From this, it could be decided how best to structure the team and their work. An assessment of some of the likely benefits of the new way of working could also be made.

“Focus on technician” articles

Any pharmacist or technician who is is involved in any new developments in work undertaken by technicians is asked to consider writing an article for publication. Advice on the publication process can be obtained by telephoning the editorial office on 020 7572 2425/2419. Articles can be sent by post to Hospital Pharmacist,1 Lambeth High Street, London, SE1 7JN, or submitted by e-mail to
hannah.pike@pharmj.org.uk or
rachel.graham@pharmj.org.uk