Author Archives: Hayley Kane

The future starts today, not tomorrow

We don’t make a habit of quoting religious leaders, but Pope John Paul II was on to something when he said that.

Those of us who have hung around the NHS for any length of time have seen a few changes. In fact, it is possible to have been in the same NHS job for 16 years and have had five employers. No sooner do we get the hang of one set of relationships than we have to make new ones, with all the disruption that is entailed. Whether this has served patients well is debatable.

As a result, NHS people tend to be sceptical about their ability to make a new and better future. The brave new tomorrow they hoped for never comes. But Pope John Paul had it right – the future starts this minute, if you want it to. Everything ahead of us is our future, and we either plan to shape it, or we just hope to ride it out – and look where that has got us.

The same applies to Pharmacy Management. We’re changing, and we’re changing fast. We decided to shape our own future with new people, a new look, a new structure and this new website. It’s designed to give you a good experience by reducing the torrent of e-mails and giving you your own virtual cubby-hole to keep your things. In its pages you’ll see Pharmacy Management’s future beginning to unfold. We hope you like it, and keep coming back.

Our future starts today.

A Faculty for Change

You may have noticed that Pharmacy Management has been accredited as a first wave Faculty training provider by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, and we’re very proud of the fact. It represents the culmination of a lot of hard work led by Clare Howard. Now all we have to do is to deliver what we said we would do, and we are fully committed to that.

There is a particular pleasure in working with RPS. If ever there was an organisation that took a dim view of change, it was the old RPSGB. Many of us thought that when the General Pharmaceutical Council was formed and RPS lost its regulatory function it was likely to become an aimless professional body.

Instead it has reinvented itself as a professional leadership body that recognises it has to earn its members’ subscriptions. In the creation of the Faculty it has given its members a route to professional fulfilment and advancement, and now we take up our role as providers of the training that will make that possible. It’s quite a responsibility, but we’re ready for it.

With help from our partners, we plan to deliver some top-class accredited training, especially in leadership and management skills. We hope you’ll choose to let us help you on your Faculty journey.

How can good Medicines Optimisation keep patients out of hospital?

Surely one of the tests of “putting patients first” must be to maintain quality of life and reduce stress associated with illness?
Turning the concept of Medicines Optimisation into reality is the opportunity for the pharmacy profession to create a new dawn in the perception of the profession and to enhance the position as a key supporting role for enhanced patient care.
Andrew Cooke from Bedfordshire CCG will deliver a practical session that answers many questions that must be on other people’s minds.
“ AVOIDING HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS BY GOOD MEDICINES OPTIMISATION” Pharmacy Management National Forum Workshop www.pharmannationalforum.co.uk

Can Hospitals become their own Supplier of Homecare?

Can you imagine the contract negotiations if the Acute Trust sets up its own Homecare Supplier Organisation?
Who would have thought that it was possible to do it all yourself and not involve a third party?
How will NHS England view the situation?
What is the governance framework going to have to deal with that is different to a third part arrangement.
How does the VAT saving come together?
These and other questions will be answered by Inderjit Singh – Chief Pharmacist of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
“ HOSPITALS AS HOMECARE PROVIDERS – SETTING UP YOUR OWN SERVICE” The Pharmacy Management National Forum Workshop www.pharmannationalforum.co.uk

Medicines Optimisation – How can data help us to get it right?

Unravelling information can often be a pre-requisite for understanding what actions will be required to bring success to the party.
Busy NHS Professionals are under pressure to perform in a results-orientated NHS so any aid to simplifying decision-making and aid success has to be welcome.
Clare Howard FRPharmS (immediate past Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer of NHS England) will examine the work to date on the Medicines Optimisation Dashboard and illustrate how information plays a major part in creating the environment for success in the delivery of patient centred care.
Come and hear “Medicines Optimisation – How can Data help us to get it right?” with Clare Howard FRPharmS at the Pharmacy Management FORUM WORKSHOP www.pharmannationalforum.co.uk