News in Brief

Cost Of A Pint
The 'shocking' cost of alcohol misuse in Northern Ireland was highlighted by Health Minister Michael McGimpsey in June after estimates that its cost to society equates to £679.8million with a range of £500million to £884million. "This research shows that the cost to the Health Service alone may be as high as around £160million each year with a further cost of £82million to Social Services,î the Minister said. ìThese figures are particularly pertinent in the context of my Departmentís very challenging financial situation because this is money that could be spent providing key frontline services."
 
Heart In Hands
The British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland is appealing to fundraisers to help it reach its target of £80,000 by August. The campaign is to recruit more heart nurses to support patients throughout the province and to reduce secondary care admissions.
 
Haiti Fundraising
Staff at Holly Villa in the Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital have raised over £320 for a group who are travelling to Haiti in October to build houses following the earthquake. The Tyrone Haiti Build is a project in conjunction with the Haven Partnership to support those affected by the disaster.
 
Secondary Care Supported
A new hospital in Omaghs fight for funding has been supported by Health Minister Michael McGimpsey. Speaking at a meeting with the Omagh joint liaison group, the Minister said: "I am fully committed to the development of the new Omagh hospital and will continue to press for the essential funding needed to make this a reality."
 
Commissioning Together
Pharmacists and GPs must work together to define the gaps in commissioning data, review how they can be filled and to determine the correct level of care provision for a particular area, according to Stephen Foster, the head of the new Healthcare Professionals Commissioning Network. The network is open to any health or social care professional who would like to engage in commissioning. tinyurl.com/HCPnetwork
 
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One To Watch PDF Print E-mail
Written by Laure James - Editor Pharmacy in Focus   
Monday, 18 May 2009 15:52
Whether it is through helping to organise social events such as the Summer Charity Ball or pioneering local marketing campaigns for his pharmacy, Chris Maguire has a very entrepreneurial and creative take on how to get the best for the profession. NIPinF chatted to him about what makes pharmacy exciting and how young pharmacists can tackle the challenges ahead.

Have you enjoyed your pre-reg year?
I've really enjoyed my pre reg year so far. It's been a great learning experience for me, and it's been great to actually see how a pharmacy works. I've particularly enjoyed getting to meet the patients and creating a relationship with them. It's very rewarding to be able to do something for the community and for them to appreciate it. It really makes a difference in day to day working life. I've enjoyed the fact that I've met so many people and not one day has been the same. I've enjoyed getting to go on courses and learn new things or refresh things and also to meet up with all the other pre-regs.
 
How involved have you been in service delivery? If so which ones?
I've been very involved in minor ailments and smoking cessation. Obviously this year is all about learning so it's been good to put the learning I had done in university and also the two courses I had to do from NICPLD on both services into practice. I've also been involved in the promotion of smoking cessation through the local papers by either doing an interview or photo shoot and also by organising displays for National No Smoking Day and for the Minor Ailments. I would be the person trying to make sure those who can get the service will and taking all the details and recommending the products, but obviously with the pharmacist having the final say.
 
How do you see the future of pharmacy in Northern Ireland evolving?
I think it has a chance to evolve quite well. I think its going to be quite saturated with pharmacists though which I see as a huge problem. With Queens already pumping out over 100, and Coleraine starting to give out 40+ in the next 4 years, I think it’s quite a worrying time for newly qualified people trying to get work. But for those already in place, I think if the accredited technicians get regulation here, and the responsible pharmacist legislation is used properly, then there is a huge chance for pharmacists to move away from dispensing all the time and getting their hands into the more clinical side of things with blood pressure monitoring, diabetes screening, smoking cessation and medicines management. I think pharmacists should be able to spend more time on these sorts of activities and actually using their consultation rooms for these things rather than as a storage unit. So hopefully it will be very positive.
 
Would you like to see an increase in pharmacy prescribing?
I think the most important thing for pharmacists is to be seen with a prescription pad in their hand. It's taken so long to get minor ailments, and we've proven how well we can deal with that and how well situated we are to deal with it. And with more and more POM to P switches this year and with more pending, then it is giving us more power to deal with these medications, its just a matter of time before we should be able to prescribe anything that could be sold OTC, and hopefully with other areas as well being tapped into, such as prescribing of antibiotics and other specialised areas. It will obviously take time for pharmacists to get their training into their specialised field, but definitely a chance for us to use our knowledge of drugs, interactions and our clinical skills to get this going in the future.
 
You were instrumental in helping to establish the Pharmacy Charity Ball for young pharmacists. What were the reasons behind the event?
For the past four years at university we have always had a formal. I promised when we were leaving Queens to a lot of the students that I would organise a mystery tour for them as they didn't want it to be their last one, and then when it was such a success they wanted another formal. I thought that after such a long and hard year of balancing a full time job with studying and learning needs and mountains of paper work that we all deserved to have a final ball. It was one way to get us all under the same roof again, it was for a goodbye to those of us moving across the water, and also for getting the pre-regs from across the water to maybe come and meet some of us Queen’s students. Ultimately it was to celebrate our hard work this year and a way to enjoy ourselves before we become those "responsible pharmacists".
 
Could you tell me more about the abseil you are planning?
The abseil, which we are planning to do the weekend before the Pre-reg Ball, is to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. There are 10 of us pre-regs doing the abseil. Most of us were just excited to get the chance to abseil but to get to do it for medical condition that is quite close to a few of our hearts and raise money for a charity that does such worthwhile job, is a privilege. We're just hoping we'll all come down in one piece!