WINNERS
10 Years of Recognising Excellence
INDEPENDENT PRESCRIBER OF THE YEAR
Lynne Merchant, Western General Hospital Pharmacy Department, with Alex MacKinnon, Royal Pharmaceutical Society Scotland
LYNNE MERCHANT, WESTERN GENERAL HOSPITAL PHARMACY DEPARTMENT
Lynne Merchant is a Specialist Gastroenterology Pharmacist, who joined NHS Lothian in July 2017. During this time, she has implemented a first-class prescribing service to the Gastrointestinal (GI) Day Unit. Prior to Lynne commencing in post, patients had to attend a phlebotomy or GP appointment prior to their infusions to have bloods taken. It had been noted by senior nursing staff that there was a lack of continuity of care for day unit patients, as prescribers changed between each infusion. Additionally, monitoring of biologic therapy was on an ad hoc basis and variable. Lynne worked with the service and led on the design of a ‘one-stop model’, where patients have their bloods taken on the unit prior to their infusion. Lynne assesses patients with severe Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and prescribes infusions of biological medicines and required supportive therapies for them. Prior
to Lynne setting up this service, prescribing was undertaken by various grades of medical staff. By the end of September 2018, Lynne had assessed and prescribed for 1878 patients on the day alone. In her comprehensive pharmaceutical review, more than 25 per cent of these patients required a significant intervention, which led to improvements in their care, with a further eleven per cent requiring Lynne to order and review therapeutic drug monitoring. This has improved safety significantly and has allowed Lynne to make significant interventions.
‘I would love to thank everyone from NHS Lothian for the fact I have been given the opportunity to be an independent prescriber. When I think about what we do in secondary care and about what clinical pharmacists can do, continually exceeding the barriers of what is expected of us, it’s just fantastic.’ Lynne Merchant, Pharmacy Department, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh
‘It’s a distinct privilege for me to be able to present the Independent Prescriber Award because I believe that greater use of pharmacist independent prescribing will improve patient access to pharmaceutical care and, increasingly, pharmacist independent prescribers are being considered as an essential part of the multi- disciplinary team, helping to overcome the many challenges facing today’s NHS.’
Alex MacKinnon, Royal Pharmaceutical Society Scotland.
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