Cluster pharmacists have right prescription to support patients

Patients are being supported to reduce and manage their medicines by a highly qualified team of pharmacists.

Neath Local Cluster Collaborative (LCC) has a dedicated pharmacy team who support staff to better safely manage patients’ care.

The LCC serves around 56,500 patients across the Neath area and is home to Quays Medical Practice, Castle Surgery, Dyfed Road Health Centre, Skewen Medical Centre, Tabernacle Medical Centre, Victoria Gardens Surgery and Waterside Medical Practice.

Pictured: Neath LCC pharmacist Nathan Wood, Neath LCC lead Dr Deborah Burge-Jones and Neath LCC pharmacist Ryan Power.

The cluster pharmacists, Nathan Wood and Ryan Power, work closely with patients to review and manage their medication and make changes where appropriate.

They work alongside cluster pharmacy technician Anne Morris who also supports the seven GP practices.

They also help to support the community pharmacies in the Neath area by ensuring medication reviews are up to date to reduce delays on prescriptions and acting as a point of contact for clinical queries from community pharmacists, among other things.

Nathan said: “We split the surgeries evenly between us and then we allocate our time based on the size of the practices.

“We undertake a range of tasks, which could range from medication reviews, asthma reviews and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease reviews informed by the priorities of the practice population.

“It could also include trying to help patients switch to more environmentally friendly inhalers, and improve management of their condition, among other things.

“We also do a lot of work with the pharmacy technicians based in the GP practices, with medication queries.

“They offer us a lot of support and we support them wherever needed.”

Medication reviews are very important as they provide an opportunity to check whether they are still needed or not needed, or if they can be reduced.

Antibiotics can be used to help treat many infections, but they are not always needed.

By only taking antibiotics when they are needed, it can help to reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance which can make some infections more difficult to treat.

Pharmacists are able to support in ensuring patients receive the intended benefit from their medication and in minimising harm through dependence and side effects.

One area where this is paramount is in managing persistent pain.

Nathan added: “As part of a routine medication review, I noticed a patient was taking a very high dose of gabapentin.

“It is only effective to treat certain types of pain. For persistent pain, the main aim of treatment is to have improved quality of life.

“If a patient is on a high dose of gabapentin it is important to ensure they are getting the intended benefit from the medication and to identify whether they are experiencing any side effects.

“While it might reduce the intensity of the pain, there are many concerns that medicines such as gabapentin can cause side effects and aren’t helpful for long-term pain conditions.

“I discussed this with the patient and suggested reducing their pain medication, which they agreed to, and over the next few months I supported them to check how they were feeling, if they had any side effects or withdrawals and discussed alternative strategies for managing pain.

“The patient fully embraced the process and with our support and guidance, they were able to fully reduce the gabapentin and stop the medication altogether without their pain worsening.”

Dr Deborah Burge-Jones, Neath LCC lead, said: “This is just one example of the exceptional work the team undertakes.

“It has been a pleasure to see the team develop with the support they provide for us in General Practice.

“They have become a highly skilled and valued team that is so crucial to us in primary care.

“They are vital in supporting and helping us meet cluster priorities whilst also working closely with other Neath collaborative members benefiting the whole LCC.”

Patients who would like to better manage their medication or think they are due a medication review can contact their GP practice to see what support might be available.