One Size FIts All

Among baggage reclaim carousels across the globe, passengers are reuniting themselves with exactly the same luggage in one country as they so trustingly parted from in another.

The Direct Approach

In a bid to raise awareness about the breadth, variety and indeed complexity of services offered throughout community pharmacies in Northern Ireland, pharmacy contractors Lee Dearn and James McKay joined David McCrea in Dundela Pharmacy to welcome the Health Minister.

The Right Formula

First the Albert Clock was treated to a reinvigorating cleanse, then the Merchant Hotel opened one of Belfast's premier jazz bars but the redevelopment of High Street doesnít stop there. Formula Healthís face-lift has turned heads of customers, commercial businesses and the Lord Mayor alike.

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

Magical Mystery Tour

Written by Laure James - Editor Pharmacy in Focus
Friday, 01 May 2009 13:24
Spending hours on an all-Ireland bound coach may not sound like fun but as seventy pre-registration students demonstrated, great company and even better craic will guarantee a good weekend, however many miles are spent on the island’s motorways! Led by Niall McPartland and Chris Maguire’s exemplary organisational skills, the group of pharmacy trainees, many of whom had not seen one another since graduating, met in Belfast on one Saturday afternoon – with no idea of where they were going. “It was something of a mystery tour for our friends from university as they hadn’t been told about the journey beforehand,” Chris, who is doing his pre-reg year at Medicare Pharmacy in Dungannon, told NIPinF. “As soon as we had confirmed everyone was there, we got onto two coaches and headed towards Enniskillen.” The group stopped off for lunch at the Three Way Inn before continuing down south to Sligo. “We met up again at the Stran Bar in Sligo, where we saw Ireland beat England in the rugby, something that has been made even more memorable now that Brian O’Driscoll has lifted the Grand Slam trophy!” The students then ended up in Galway where they partied the night away and stayed in a nearby hostel. After breakfast the next morning, the group had a chance to see some of the stunning surroundings before going back to Sligo to watch some Sunday afternoon football and grab some lunch, before coming back to Belfast. “The majority of the pre-regs had been together at Queen’s University for four years and are now all dispersed across Northern Ireland so it was a great chance to see people we’ve not seen for some months,” Chris said. “We also welcomed some students who are working in Northern Ireland but studied elsewhere, such as in Liverpool. We wanted to get to know them as they’d arrived here but didn’t really know many people. “Northern Ireland’s a great place to do a pre-reg year and I am really enjoying mine although I cannot wait to qualify. I’ve been involved with the Minor Ailments Service and our smoking cessation programme but I’ve really liked looking into travel vaccines, melatonin and talking with prescribing advisors at board level.”