Margaret Gibbs looks back at her 28 years in the job Looking back at dates, I realise that I’ve been a palliative care pharmacist for 28 years, which is two-thirds of my working life. I was working at a local NHS Trust when Greenwich and Bexley Cottage Hospice (as it was then known – now…
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In September 2019, the charity Hospices of Hope invited interested supporters on an insight visit to Serbia to see the new hospice building and meet the staff and patients. I have a family connection with Belgrade as my father was a Serbian pharmacist and our family supports the charity with the intention of trying to do something specific to help this particular site. There hasn’t been such an opportunity so far but this visit seemed a great chance to find out more in person…
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What is the QT interval? The QT interval is the time in milliseconds between the start of the Q wave and the end of the T wave in the heart’s electrical cycle. The QT interval represents the time it takes the ventricles to depolarise and then repolarise. A prolonged QT…
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The practice of pharmacy in a hospice setting is very different to that in an acute setting. As time is short, focus on long-term effects of medicines may not be such a concern so we can use medicines such as co-danthramer, which has carcinogenic properties, if given long term. Symptoms…
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The regulations surrounding the supply of stock medication have become increasingly stringent in recent years, with increased licensing and more in-depth inspections. This is creating a range of issues for hospices as they seek a consistent and reliable supplier. Perhaps the biggest impact has been created by the MHRA’s Wholesale…
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The Ashtons Live View system facilitates the electronic reporting of pharmacist audits and communication between the pharmacist and clinical staff in the hospital. The pharmacists report any clinical interventions, audits and compliance issues following their ward visits and this information is emailed to the relevant staff and managers. The hospital…
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Palliative care can provide great comfort to patients suffering from a terminal illness, and also their families. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines palliative care as “an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and…
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Maintaining and improving the quality of medicines management in hospices is a constant challenge. We have been successfully helping hospices with this for over 20 years. We will help you to promote the safe and effective use of medicines. This will not only positively affect the day-to-day lives of your…
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It is now 26 years since the then Health Secretary, Virginia Bottomley, successfully argued in favour of providing hospices with a prescribing budget, instead of using NHS prescriptions to obtain medication. This gave hospices the opportunity to purchase stock medication instead of using patients’ own supplies. Having a budget for…
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