Patient Newsletter: Winter 2023

 

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Meet The Team: Pharmacy

Our pharmacy team deal with all thing’s medication. Prescription Clerk Sally actions incoming prescription requests and sends them through to the relevant clinician or responds to patients as appropriate. Sally is the bridge between our patients and the local Pharmacies and is often found making phone calls to one or the other. Pharmacy Technician Annie helps our patients get the best from their medications by ensuring these are being taken correctly, and by following national protocols to make safe and effective medication changes.

Annie and Sally are overseen by Clinical Pharmacist Nic. Nic is a prescribing pharmacist who helps our patients manage their long-term conditions by delivering structured medication reviews. She can give clinical advice on taking multiple medications, treatment decisions, and making lifestyle changes. Nic also runs blood pressure clinics and manages our hypertensive patients.

image of the pharmacy team

This knowledgeable and experienced team is hugely valuable to our practice and has been a massive help in freeing up some GP time since the national shortage of doctors.

The Pharmacy team are great at keeping on top of their blood sugar levels by always having an emergency supply of biscuits in the office (eaten in small amounts as part of a balanced diet of course!)

Did you know? All medication reviews are due around your birthday month. If you take regular medications, you can phone the surgery to book your annual review one month before your birthday.

 

Community Pharmacy Consultation Service

Our reception staff are able to send official referrals for same day telephone consultations with a Community Pharmacist

Conditions we can refer for include but are not limited to: Bites/stings, colds, congestion, difficulty sleeping/tiredness, ear, eye, gastric/bowel, gynae/thrush, hayfever, pain, skin, mouth/throat, swelling

What Is An NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation?

  • It’s a telephone consultation with a fully qualified pharmacist
  • It involves a clinical assessment and conversation with the pharmacist

How Can The Pharmacist Help?

  • The pharmacist has the right clinical training to assess you and recommend the best treatment for some common conditions
  • If your symptoms suggest it’s more serious, the pharmacist will discuss your treatment with your GP and help you to get an urgent GP appointment if needed
  • If you don’t need any treatment the pharmacist will be able to provide reassurance. For instance, a minor illness may get better on its own
  • To help with symptoms, the pharmacist may offer to sell you an over-the-counter medicine

What Happens Next?

  • The pharmacist will make a record of the outcome and send it to your GP

What Training Does The Pharmacist Have?

  • Every pharmacist is trained for five years in the use of medicines, managing minor illnesses and providing health and wellbeing advice, so they are the right person to see
 

Vacancies

We currently have vacancies open for the following roles:

  • Salaried GP

 If you are interested in any of the above roles, please email your CV and cover letter to us via our secure online form

Published: Feb 10, 2023