Chelsea and Westminster's Esther Shortlisted for Award
Local people asked to vote to help her to win I Love My Pharmacist
Esther, who has worked at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for seven years in various roles, has been recognised as a pharmacist who goes the extra mile for patients in her local community by being shortlisted as a Regional Finalist for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s I Love My Pharmacist Award.
This awards aims to elebrate the exceptional contribution pharmacists make to patient care every day throughout Great Britain.
Pharmacists are often the unsung heroes of the NHS. They don’t just dispense medicines, they also work alongside GPs, nurses, hospital staff and even care home staff, providing expert advice and vital services such as medication reviews, as well as providing services in the community such as stop smoking support and lifestyle advice.
Local pharmacist Esther has been shortlisted as a Regional Finalist for London and Kent due to her outstanding contribution to Neurology patients.
Esther is part of a multidisciplinary team and sees a range of patients with an array of neurology conditions including Parkinson’s, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease.
Some of her patients require additional help with their medication, be it providing repeat prescriptions or the need to counsel a patient on new therapies. This led her to decide that it was time for her pharmacist role to evolve by introducing a new referral pathway for neurology patients.
Previously a consultant would see the patient and either write a prescription for the patient to get dispensed or, if they required additional care, would then be referred to a specialist nurse.
The patient would then start their treatment and the nurse would monitor them going forward.
With this new pathway, the patient is referred by the consultant to see both the specialist pharmacist and nurse. This means the patient has the expertise of two healthcare professionals and as the expert in medicines Esther can closely monitor the patient’s medication, make any changes if necessary and ensure the medicines are being taken correctly.
This pathway has run for the past two years and Esther believes it really has made a difference to her patients. Together the specialist nurse and Esther see the patients more regularly (in between scheduled consultant outpatient appointments), resulting in them being able to pick up on any concerns early.
Esther says: "It is a real honour to be selected in the I Love My Pharmacist Award. I am truly passionate about enhancing patient care and experience for our neurology patients.
" The changes we have made have enabled me to help the patients’ journey. It puts me in the position where I am able to discuss and enlighten their knowledge and understanding of the medication they are taking.
" A pharmacist is more than just a dispenser of medicine. I want to continue to raise the profiles of pharmacists to the public, so they are fully aware of how we can be of benefit to them and the community."
There are 23 shortlisted I Love My Pharmacist Regional Finalists in Great Britain, all of whom have demonstrated exceptional care and commitment to patients.
Ash Soni, Royal Pharmaceutical Society President says: "The I Love My Pharmacist Award demonstrates just how vital pharmacists are to every local health service as we showcase and celebrate the many different and vital roles they perform across the NHS. Pharmacists help patients take their medicines better, treat minor ailments and make life-saving interventions, as well as offering many other services.
"I’m delighted that Esther has been selected as a regional finalist and I would now call on all members of the public to visit the I Love My Pharmacist website and vote for their Regional Winner."
To cast a vote for Esther visit the I Love My Pharmacist website before voting closes next Thursday July 21.
July 15, 2016
