Clinical pharmacist in general practice pilot

In 2015, NHS England, Health Education England, RCGP and the BMAs GP Committee started working with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society on a three year pilot to test the role of clinical pharmacists working in general practice.
One year later this pilot is in full swing, seeing pharmacists taking up roles in practices across the country. The idea behind the pilot is for clinical pharmacists to work as part of the general practice team to resolve day-to-day medicine issues and consult with and treat patients directly.

Having a clinical pharmacist in GP practices means GPs can focus their skills where they are most needed, for example on diagnosing and treating patients with complex conditions. This in turn will help GPs manage the demands on their time.

One such pharmacist started the pilot shortly after finishing their residential induction and explains a little about their experience:

I had broken the ice with a short visit to the practice, but day one was the real thing and I had never before experienced walking into a job so new. Luckily for me, my first day coincided with that of a new nurse and we were given a short and structured induction by the assistant practice manager, followed by training on Emis Web

I was allocated a desk in the practice, next to the prescription clerks. I was starting to appreciate how busy life was going to be, the ringing of two phones in my community pharmacy was replaced by at least eight phones and eight different simultaneous conversations.

By lunch time the practice manager had drawn up a list of projects for me to tackle: act as prescribing lead within the practice, review repeat prescription procedure, lead on dispensing quality service, provide advice for prescription clerks, dispensers and anyone else and spend at least 50% of my time undertaking medication reviews. Being given a project list helped to focus my mind and prioritise my learning.

The afternoon was spent observing a nurse practitioner deliver a varied clinic including some medication reviews. I could see that my experience in delivering Medicines Use Review (MURs) would mean a different approach to medication reviews; different clinician, different emphasis.

Our pharmacist left at the end of day one with their mind buzzing but also feeling inspired and considering what they would tackle first.

For more information on the pilot and current pilot sites visit the NHS England website.