DIABETES


thE IcP ImPAct REPoRt hAS AlREAdY ShoWN gREAt PAtIENt oUtcomES IN dIABEtES. PIf SPEAKS to UNA o’fARREll ABoUt thE ImPAct thAt PhARmAcY IS mAKINg IN thE IcPS ….


IcPS: JoININg thE ExIStINg dotS


U


na o’farrell is currently covering maternity leave as lead Pharmacist for


causeway IcP. Una believes that the work that the IcPs are doing in diabetes not only demonstrates the vital contribution that pharmacists make to healthcare, but is also a clear indicator of the richness of the profession.


‘the IcPs were primarily established to ‘marry up’ different strands of healthcare,’ Una tells Pif, ‘to join the existing dots if you like – and to optimise what’s already there.


‘the health and Social care Board had given all IcPs areas that were quite challenging, such as looking at who is presenting at emergency departments, and what can be done to pre-empt and prevent admissions.


‘causeway IcP developed a novel approach to this since we included the patient perspective in our policy forming and built our services around this. As a result, since we had opted to look at diabetes (one of the fREdS), we focused on reducing the number of visits that were being made to A & E by diabetic patients –


14 - PhARmAcY IN focUS


and even more worrying – the number of hospital admissions.


‘our IcP, which comprises a gP lead, a nursing representative, a representative from the ambulance service, two representatives from the community and voluntary sector and myself as pharmacy lead, had been looking at the whole area of diabetes, and assessing the obstacles that were preventing people from accessing the necessary services.


‘We immediately recognised one particular area of concern in the diabetic foot pathway. very often, patients with foot ulcers were being referred to hospital but, due to hospital waiting times, by the time their appointment arrived, they’d actually had to have a foot amputated.


‘once causeway IcP had reviewed this situation, we established an initiative whereby a patient can be referred by a gP to a podiatrist on the same day or the next day. this is not only of benefit to the patient, it also relieves pressure on secondary care in general and on hospital waits in particular.


‘the success of this initiative has been evidenced by the fact that, since this referral initiative was set up, there have been no major amputations in the causeway IcP area!


‘I believe that the work of the IcPs allows pharmacists to bring their own experience and unique perspective to the table. In respect of this diabetic foot initiative, for example, we had realised that there was a problem with recruitment to the desmond programme, which is a structured education learning programme for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Pharmacy has ready access to patients, who require the desmond training the most, and so plans are afoot to use this as a means of promoting self care.


‘IcP work means that we’re all able to learn from each other. very soon, for example, the causeway IcP team is going to the Western trust to see which clinical areas they’re focusing on. there’s no need to reinvent the wheel in healthcare. We can all learn and benefit from each other.


‘All of this does, I believe, clearly demonstrate the richness of the


pharmacy profession. on a daily basis, I’m able to use my clinical skills in working as a locum in several locations, but I’m also on the Pharmacist Representation group, which I believe is extremely important in representing the views and opinions of employee pharmacists, who are working in primary care, and which will help to shape the future of the profession.


‘these roles, in addition to my work with causeway IcP, means that I am not only able to use my clinical skills, but am also working to help form the future of integrated healthcare and collaborative working in Northern Ireland, which is very exciting! Every day brings new, rich, learning experiences in several different sectors of the profession. there has been so much talk recently of ‘silos’, but working in the way that I do means that I don’t have to become conditioned to one particular way of working and I’m able to network between different aspects of the profession.


‘All in all, it’s very dynamic and exciting and I love every minute of it!’ •


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64