UCA-NI NEWS
UCA welcome Office move
I had the pleasure of welcoming pharmacists, suppliers and guests to the 13th annual Pharmacy in Focus Awards on 1 February. This is the first awards ceremony since UCA-NI was incorporated in May last year. We aim to build on the legacy of Ulster Chemists’ Association and we hope this dynamic new structure will enable us to support pharmacy into the future. We were joined by Paula Bradshaw, a Health Committee MLA, who has been very supportive of community pharmacy and by Cathy Harrison, our newly-appointed Chief Pharmaceutical Officer. Along with a new Health Minister, Robin swann, there is a golden opportunity for pharmacy to finalise its long-awaited contract. Community pharmacy is in a unique position in the health service. We have continuously evolved and innovated, showing remarkable resilience. We embrace the use of technology and new ways of working. The Pharmacy in Focus Awards provide a showcase for community pharmacy and recognise pharmacists who provide excellent service to the public amid ever increasing pressures. I hope you will be inspired, as I was, by the positive impact our pharmacies have in their communities. We now turn our attention to the UCA-NI Conference to be held in the Crowne Plaza on sunday 29 March. Details can be found on page six and I encourage pharmacists from every sector to attend. Peter Rice, Chair.
Be smart
UCA are proud to endorse Pharmsmart’s electronic CD-Register CDsmart. UCA has worked closely with Pharmsmart and the Medicines Inspectorate to ensure that the CDsmart software meets all Northern Ireland regulatory requirements.
The benefits of using CDsmart are many and varied. For a start, the software is extremely easy to use. It’s also safe and accessible – vital in today’s world of cyberhacking!
CDsmart not only saves you time, but it also helps you to improve patient safety – again, a vital component in today’s community pharmacy. With accurate and
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traceable entries, you can very quickly create a full audit trail of all actions and can generate a range of reports that are useful to both your own pharmacy and to inspectors.
The software allows you to review all entries and any notation, again ensuring that you remain totally compliant at all times with NI regulatory requirements.
The team at CDsmart are working pharmacists, they fully understand your needs and UCA-NI is delighted to be working with them.
‘We have been using Pharmsmart since the very start,’ says Keady at
Maghaberry Pharmacy, ‘and now we can't imagine it any other way. quick, user-friendly and, if you get stuck, one of the team will make the time to help you out! If you are thinking about it - go for it.’
For more information about CDsmart go to
pharmsmart.co.uk or see the Pharmsmart advert on page 57.
UCA-NI staff finalised their move to CPNI’s premises on Annadale Avenue in December.
‘everyone was keen to move to Annadale Avenue as soon as possible,’ explained Adrienne Clugston, UCA-NI Operations
Manager, ‘so we moved over just before the Christmas break. staff are in temporary accommodation in the building for now and we are keen to get settled into our permanent office as soon as possible. In the meantime, it is business as usual for the UCA team. Pharmacies can call us on the
same number – 028 9065 6576 – and our email and web address remain the same. UCA Locum Online and other support services we provide are still available and we encourage pharmacy teams to call us if they require assistance in any way.’
Go Green for Macmillan Week
Fifteen pharmacies took part in the UCA’s Go Green for Macmillan Week at the end of september, with many holding a Macmillan Coffee Morning on Friday 27 september.
UCA-NI also recently helped PHA to distribute 5000 Palliative Care booklets – Your life and your choices: plan ahead – produced with the help of Macmillan Cancer support, to pharmacies across Northern Ireland.
Our campaign raised a total of £2788 for Macmillan Cancer support. This donation could help run a small Macmillan Benefits Advice service for a whole week!
This event brings our charity partnership year with Macmillan Cancer support to an end, but we hope to continue with the Go Green Week in 2020 and beyond. Many people in our communities are living
Workforce pressures?
Pharmacy owners and managers are spending an inordinate amount of time now just making sure there is pharmacist cover each day. The same issue is felt across all pharmacy sectors.
UCA can offer the following support: UCA LocumOnline: Locums can
register their availability or contact details on the UCA website
www.uca.org.uk and pharmacy owners and managers can either browse the listing or advertise a shift or vacancy. A message is sent to all locums registered with contact details to call if available.
Recruitment ads: vacancies can be promoted via databases and/or social media for a specified period of time. For more information, or to access LocumOnline, please call Natalie on 028 9065 6576, or visit
www.uca.org.uk
with cancer or caring for someone who is. The support from their community pharmacist is vital to helping them cope with the symptoms and effects of cancer and treatments.
so, a big thank you to everyone who took part!
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