Smile & Cuddles Bags
A big thank you to the North Shore Mums who donate smile and cuddles bags, that have been very well received at Ryde emer- gency department. The bags contain books, colouring, pencils and activities for the chil- dren who present to the emergency depart- ment. Sarah Artup, NUM ED said, “ These distrac- tion bags help kids of all ages and decrease the stress of the ED environment and bring joy to the kids during such a stressful time. ” Aisake can often be seen giving them to children in the ED waiting room.
Focus on Allied Health—Pharmacy
Parkinson ’ s disease clinic. Pharmacy supports medication stewardship to improve patient outcomes through ensuring the best possible use of medications. This involves working with patients and the health team to ensure that patients are receiving the optimal medication therapy including the most appropriate medication(s) and dose for effective therapy and minimising potential side effects. Medical Products We ensure equitable access to medicines and vaccines of assured quality, safety and efficacy, and their scientifically sound and cost effective use. The pharma- cists ensure that medication use is in line with the new NSW Medicines Formulary. An approach for evaluating and ap- proving the use of medicines reduces unnecessary clinical variation, improves safety, and enables a state - based ap- proach to the procurement of those medicines. Financing. The pharmacy service is funded to provide the medication management service to the hospital which in- cludes the clinical service as well as inventory management. We are responsible for the adherence to the NSW Pharma- ceutical contracts when purchasing medications. Leadership and governance . Strong health systems need effective policies, oversight and accountability, with atten- tion to system design and appropriate regulation. The phar- macists participate in the frameworks that advance the deliv- ery of effective and safe healthcare and ensure access to high quality medicines. The Ryde Pharmacy Manager chairs the Ryde Medication Safety and Quality Committee (membership includes Senior Pharmacist & Antimicrobial Stewardship pharmacist), and it part of the NSLHD Drug and Therapeutics Committee, Sustainable Future commit- tee, the NSCC Electronic Medicines Management Advisory Group, the Whole of Hospital committee, the Communi- cating for Safety Committee, and the NSLHD Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee. Pharmacists are involved in creating and reviewing policies, procedures, guidelines and protocols in relation to medica- tion use, and participate in working groups as required such as the Anaphylaxis Clinical Care Standard working group and the Voluntary Assisted Dying working group. They contribute to the work which is required for the hospital to meet its obligations under the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards - Medication Safety Standard, and the Clinical Care Standards.
What do we do? “ Supply drugs of course ” you say. Well not just that these days! Everyone would be aware of the responsi- bility of the Pharmacy service to supply medications to the pa- tients in our hospital, during their inpatient stay as well as on discharge. But did you know that the pharmacy contribution to the hospital extends beyond that now. September 25 was World Pharmacists Day and the theme for 2023 was “ Pharmacy strengthening health systems ”. This theme encapsulates the contribution pharmacy makes now to health systems. According to the World Health Organization, strong health systems are built on six blocks - Service delivery; Health workforce; Information; Medical Products; Financing; and Leadership and governance.
Service delivery. Pharmacists deliver effective, safe, quality health interventions to those that need them, when and where they are needed. At Ryde, we supply medications to patients on the ward via their imprest system as well as individually dis- pensing medications to inpatients and on discharge. The phar- macists work a little differently to other Allied Health profes- sionals in that they do not operate on a referral basis but see all patients admitted onto the wards. All inpatient wards have a pharmacist rostered to cover that ward and can be contacted via pager. The pharmacists help document a patient ’ s Best Possible Medication History and complete Medication Reconciliation on admission to hospital and at discharge (which is the process of ensuring patients receive all intended medications and that medication information is accurately communicated at transi- tions of care). Health workforce. At Ryde the service consists of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, an assistant and an intern pharmacist. The pharmacists supervise and train the intern pharmacist in their postgraduate training year and prepare them for their end of year Pharmacy Board exams. We take pharmacy student placements throughout the year from various NSW universities. Information– We provide medicine information, patient and staff education. The pharmacists present education sessions to nursing and medical, as well as to such outpatient groups as the Cardiac Rehabilitation program, the Balance group and the
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