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Medicine Matters Winter 2017: Medicines information for care staff in a social setting
Medicine Matters – Winter 2017 The Winter 2017 newsletter covers: CQC – The state of health care and adult services in England Lessons learnt: Transdermal Patches Annual Flu Vaccine
Save the date – Regional Pharmacy Conference 6th July 2018
Regional Pharmacy Conference Friday 6th July 2018 Keynote Speaker: Dr Keith Ridge CBE, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England The Great North Pharmacy Research Collaborative has organised a regional pharmacy conference for Friday 6th July 2018. A flyer with details is available here The organisers are inviting submission of abstracts for posters or oral presentations by midnight 30th April 2018. Protocols, works in progress, audits and preliminary findings may be submitted. Gemma Donovan (NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow and Academic Practitioner with NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Sunderland. T: (0)191 515 2396 or E : gemma.donovan@sunderland.ac.uk) has kindly offered advice […]
Keep your vaccines healthy – something to stick on the fridge
Public Health England (PHE) have produced a “Keep your vaccines healthy” poster – as a source of readily available information & advice on vaccine ordering and storage. The advice in the poster is intended to help keep vaccine wastage to a minimum – potentially saving the NHS thousands of pounds every year. Details of the poster and a pdf copy to download can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keep-your-vaccines-healthy-poster Printed copies are available via the Health and Social Care Publications orderline: https://www.orderline.dh.gov.uk/ecom_dh/public/home.jsf
Hyoscine butylbromide injection – supply issues
Hyoscine butylbromide 20mg/1ml injection (Buscopan injection) is included in NECN Palliative Care guidelines and linked care plans as an option for pharmacological management of distressing excess secretions – and for prescription in anticipation of possible need. The Palliative Care & Pharmacy Teams at County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust have become aware of a widespread supply problem and have circulated the following advice (full text here: CD&DFT Memo – Supply Issues with Hyoscine Butylbromide 20mg Injection). There is currently a supply issue with Hyoscine Butylbromide 20mg injection. Stock is not expected at wholesalers for another 2-3 weeks and stock levels have […]
NECS good practice guidance and tools for care homes
The NECS Vulnerable Adults Workstream Group has produced a suite of guidance documents and tools for use across all North East and Cumbria CCGs, based national standards, legislation and guidance.
Prevention of Future Death Notice – the EPS system does not highlight urgent prescriptions to pharmacies
“The EPS system does NOT allow urgent prescriptions to be highlighted to the receiving pharmacy when sent from a GP system.” This applies to all current pharmacy software. Following a Coroner’s inquest in Nottingham, the Superintendent Pharmacist for Well Pharmacy has circulated a Prevention of Future Death notice to alert prescribers to potentially serious consequences of shortcomings in the current configuration of EPS. GPs, surgery teams, medicines management teams and others are asked to note that: “…for urgent prescriptions a phone call is needed to alert the pharmacy team to the patient need.”
Specialist Pharmacy Service Shortage Memo – Bactroban
The Department of Health have circulated an email alerting NHS bodies to problems with supplies of bactroban nasal ointment. GSK are unable to confirm the exact resupply date but have advised that new stock should be available by the end of first quarter of 2018. The NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service has published a brief shortages memo, which provides advice on clinical alternatives (Naseptin nasal cream, Prontoderm or Octenisan nasal gel) and recommends seeking advice from the local infection control team. The memo is available at the following link: https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/shortage-of-bactroban-mupirocin-nasal-ointment/
Controlled Drugs: Learning from Incidents Issue 9
Controlled Drugs: Learning from Incidents Issue 9 Issue 9 of the bulletin: Controlled Drugs: Learning from Incidents, produced by NECS on behalf of NHS England is now available. Issue 9 covers: Gabapentin/Pregabalin consultation Common CD prescribing/dispensing incidents Recent burglaries to pharmacies