IntraHealth has a team of Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians that have been supporting CCGs, GP Federations, GP Practices, GPs, and patients since 1999. We have 37 independent prescribing pharmacists working across all of our services and have recently been awarded a third pilot site for the Department of Health clinical pharmacist pilot.
Three of IntraHealth’s applications to be part of the NHS Clinical Pharmacists in General Practice Pilot have been successful (two for Phase 1 and one for Phase 2). Our applications were submitted following feedback from patient participation groups and communication direct with patients; where the vast majority of patients confirmed that a Clinical Pharmacist working in the practice would be of interest to them. Further detail on the success of these pilots can be found on the Primary Care Commissioning (PCC) website at Clinical Pharmacists in General Practice and Clinical Pharmacists improve safety, workload and satisfaction.
The Phase 1 projects recruited 10 pharmacists within our practices (6 in County Durham and 4 in Wolverhampton) to work as part of the core general practice team to improve patient experience and reduce GP workload. The Phase 2 project will lead to a further 3 Pharmacists being recruited for Wolverhampton GP practices.
The model for service delivery involves a senior pharmacist supporting a small group of clinical pharmacists who will develop their skills to play a pivotal role in the challenges around GP capacity. Clinical Pharmacists are medicine experts and would work closely with your GP and the rest of the practice team to help patients.
Some of the benefits to patients in using a Clinical Pharmacist are;
As an experienced clinical pharmacist provider IntraHealth is at the forefront of delivery within this national scheme. We are one of the leading providers in both clinical pharmacists and general practice and we therefore draw on our excellent experienced primary care staff to support the project.