Option 2 - GP Practice pharmacists: Pharmacy First - Inverclyde and beyond

Theme 1 is concerned with What Is The Role For Pharmacists?

In this pair of talks Glynis McMurtry asks What is the role for GP practice pharmacists? then Audrey Thompson will describe a successful project in Inverclyde.

Since 2016, Glynis McMurtry has been responsible for the implementation of the regional Practice Based Pharmacist Project. She has worked in the area of GP practice pharmacy for most of her career, having started as one of the first Practice Pharmacists in NI in 1996. Glynis has also worked within the NI Health and Social Care Board to provide prescribing support to all prescribers in primary care and brings this experience to the future development of the Practice Based Pharmacist role.

‘What is the role for GP practice pharmacists?’

In 2016, funding was approved to place a Practice Based Pharmacist in every GP practice in NI via membership of a GP Federation. This resulted in the potential for over 300 pharmacists to be employed in a role that, at that point, was unknown by a significant proportion of GP practices but which had previously been carried out by a relatively small group of pharmacists. This session aims to describe the Practice Based Pharmacist project and how it was implemented in NI. It will outline the role of the Practice Based Pharmacist within the setting of GP practice and the GP Federation and will explain the plans for developing the role and career structure for this rapidly expanding sector of the pharmacy profession.

Audrey Thompson, Lead Pharmacist Prescribing Services, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Scotland

Audrey Thompson took up her current post in 2018 after a succession of roles within prescribing support and governance. This post leads the development of pharmacy services to GP practices and mental health services within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC). Major areas of work include development of a pharmacotherapy service to support the Scottish General Medical Services Contract, ensuring systems are in place to maximise safety, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of prescribing, forecasting and review of primary care prescribing expenditure, and governance of non-medical prescribing. Audrey is chair of the Area Pharmaceutical Committee and, in 2016, was elected chair of the Area Clinical Forum. This responsibility confers a position as Non-Executive Director of NHSGGC. She is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

‘Pharmacy First: Inverclyde and beyond’

Inverclyde Health and Social care Partnership was a pilot site for a test of transformational change to develop a model of efficient, effective and sustainable multidisciplinary primary care team. The Inverclyde Pharmacy First project in community pharmacy provided an extended minor ailments scheme including treatments for common, uncomplicated conditions normally requiring a GP prescription. A separate pilot involved the provision of additional pharmacy resource to GP practices to support care of patients and free up GP time. This session will explore the work undertaken to deliver excellent pharmaceutical care to patients in both settings by looking at how this has maximised the use of the pharmacists’ skills and directed patients to the most appropriate healthcare professional. This work has been well received by patients, GPs, practice staff and the pharmacy workforce. It has also been shown to reduce GP workload.