Published 3 March 2023
Pharmacy teams were praised for their excellent, patient-focussed work by England’s leading pharmacists during a visit to East Kent Hospitals this week.
Pharmacy staff at William Harvey (WHH), Kent and Canterbury (K&C) and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) hospitals showcased the breadth of their innovative work to England’s chief and deputy chief pharmaceutical officers, the south east’s chief pharmacist, NHS England’s hospital pharmacy modernisation lead, and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s director for England.
David Webb, chief pharmaceutical officer, thanked teams involved and said: “It was great to meet you and learn more about your work developing the pharmacy workforce, including some brilliant roles for pharmacy technicians, your focus on patient care, and the excellent work of the medicines value and evidence team.”
The visitors were impressed by the work of the clinical pharmacy team within critical care, and the dispensary and operations teams, who make sure pharmacy services run smoothly across our many wards, departments and sites, issuing 35-40,000 items each week.
The seven-day pharmacy service within WHH’s acute medical unit (AMU) was praised by deputy chief pharmacist, Richard Cattell, for its vital role at the heart of the clinical team.
Sairah Mukhtar, pharmacy lead for urgent and emergency care, said: “I’m really proud that the excellent work of the AMU teams at both WHH and QEQM was recognised, particularly how advanced and integrated the service is within the wider AMU team.”
The visitors praised the pharmacy apprenticeship scheme which is helping to develop the pharmacy teams of the future, including apprentice Cat Sharpe’s innovative science and manufacturing technology apprenticeship within K&C’s aseptics services team.
Chief pharmacist David Webb heard about the from Michelle Brown, pharmacy technician at QEQM’s emergency department (ED), and ED sister Claire Solly, about how the dedicated pharmacy technician role within ED is integral to the multi-disciplinary team, has helped to improve patient safety and get patients home sooner. Read more here.
Will Willson, director of pharmacy said: “The feedback from our visitors showed that it was a truly excellent visit where they saw some really innovative work that we are tremendously proud of.
“Thank you to pharmacy colleagues on all sites for your support in all that we do for our patients – you are what makes this service what it is and that came shining through to our national colleagues.”
