NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service

Emma Kirk discusses with Claire Davies her experiences and learnings from speaking with people living with diabetes as part of the NHS SPS insulin safety project. In this podcast Claire shares conversations with Abdul, Sarah, Charlie and Toby including the impact of their diabetes diagnosis, diabetes devices, faith, hypoglycaemia and admissions to hospital on their diabetes journey. (48m 41s) This...

In this episode John Oliver speaks to expert guests about evaluating the suitability of unlicensed medicines for the patient. We discuss practical considerations for managing them in dispensaries, performing a quality assessment and good governance frameworks. (29m:55s) Speakers: John Oliver, Quality Assurance Specialist; NHS SPS Dr. Andrew Lowey, Lead Clinician, Pharmacy Preparative Services Leed...

Audio from our webinar held on the 4 March 2025 which featured a facilitated case-based discussion about the complexities of polypharmacy and deprescribing. This was a follow on from our first webinar, which lays the foundations of some of the deprescribing tools available. (57m02s) Speakers: Lelly Oboh: Older people lead, NHS SPS Jasvir Singh Dhillon: Clinical pharmacist, Shropshire, Telford & Wr...

Claire Davies chats to Neera Shah about the challenges and considerations with insulin safety in health and justice and secure settings. Claire Davies – Advanced Specialist Pharmacist, SPS – Project Lead, Insulin Safety Neera Shah - Area pharmacist, Offender Health

Claire Davies chats with Toby, a person living with diabetes, as to why it is essential that the voice of those with lived experience is heard and is central to any system-wide discussions about insulin safety and what is important to him to ensure his insulin therapy is safe alongside visual impairment.

In this episode John Oliver speaks to expert guests about the information and assurance needed to support the use of unlicensed medicines. We discuss the procurement process in different care settings, and explore considerations for quality assurance, packaging and labelling and formulation. (20m:05s) Speakers: John Oliver, Quality Assurance Specialist; NHS SPS Penny Daynes, Associate Regional Pha...

Rakhi talks to Antonio about newer therapies for lipid management, incliseran and bemepdoic acid. They discuss their place in therapy and how they may be initiated in primary care. This is the final part of our three-part series. Antonio Ochoa-Ferraro: Consultant Pharmacist, Inherited Metabolic Disorders; University Hospitals of Birmingham Rakhi Aggarwal: Primary Care Lead, Medicines Use and Safet...

In this episode John Oliver speaks to expert guests who define unlicensed medicines and explain why we need them. We discuss the shared responsibility for their use and the role of pharmacy in managing them safely. (20m28s) Speakers: John Oliver, Quality Assurance Specialist; NHS SPS Emma Kirk, Medication Safety Officer Network Lead, Medicines Use and Safety Pharmacist; NHS SPS Linda Hardy, Region...

Experienced Medicines Advice pharmacists, Karoline Brennan and Daniel Hill, talk you through how to manage patients who are unable to swallow medicines. We describe a process for choosing suitable formulations, including crushing tablets. Quick links to resources: SPS swallowing difficulties resources https://www.sps.nhs.uk/home/guidance/swallowing-difficulties/ Choosing medicines formulations in...

Experienced Medicines Advice pharmacists, Karoline Brennan and Daniel Hill, talk you through how to manage patients who are unable to swallow medicines. We describe a process on how to find the appropriate formulation for your patient if the medicine isn't already covered in the SPS swallowing difficulties resources. Quick links to resources: SPS swallowing difficulties resources www.sps.nhs.uk/ho...

Kieran Reynolds talks to Dr Stephanie Gallard and Liz Kramer about some of the clinical issues you may encounter when providing the infected insect bites/stings service under Pharmacy First. Discussion includes how to differentiate between infected and non-infected insect bites, advice to give patients to prevent insect bites from becoming infected and how patients with insect borne diseases may p...

Kieran Reynolds talks to Dr Stephanie Gallard and Liz Kramer about some of the clinical issues you may encounter when providing the shingles service under Pharmacy First. Discussion includes the link between chickenpox and shingles, typical presentation of shingles, dermatomal distribution of shingles and how to respond to requests for video consultations. (20m 23s) Dr Stephanie Gallard – GP with...

Kieran Reynolds talks to Dr Stephanie Gallard and Liz Kramer about some of the clinical issues you may encounter when providing the impetigo service under Pharmacy First. Discussion includes how patients with impetigo usually present, differential diagnoses, advice to prevent the spread of impetigo and information about how what to when first line treatments are out of stock, including information...

Penny and Andy discuss new resources to support NHS procurement teams manage medicine shortages. They are joined by Sally and Andrew who talk about using the resources to navigate supply issues in their Trusts. The resources include a checklist with where to find information and how to escalate problems. Speakers: Penny Daynes, Associate Regional Pharmacy Procurement Specialist, North East and Yor...

Two of our experienced Medicines Advice Pharmacists, John Minshull and Luke Elliott, talk about answering queries regarding the dosing of medication in patients with renal impairment. They discuss when to use eGRF and Cockcroft and Gault when estimating creatinine clearance, recommended resources to support decision making, and where to get further advice. Quick Links The Renal Drug Database https...

Kieran Reynolds talks to Aimee Francisco about drugs in liver impairment. Discussion includes key issues to consider when prescribing in liver disease, medicines to avoid (or use with caution) in liver disease, drug induced liver injury and herbal medicines. (13m 29s) Aimee Francisco - Advanced Specialist Gastroenterology Pharmacist at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS FT and primary care lead at the...

Kieran Reynolds talks to Naz Kanani Alviri about liver cirrhosis. Discussion includes what cirrhosis is, and how it is diagnosed, the difference between compensated and decompensated cirrhosis, complications of decompensated cirrhosis and initiatives being undertaken to improve the earlier diagnosis of liver disease. (19m 16s) Naz Kanani Alviri - Principal Pharmacist -Hepatology & Liver transplant...

Kieran Reynolds talks to Sital Shah in our introductory podcast about liver disease. Discussion includes the functions of the liver, difference between liver disease and liver impairment, liver blood tests and how to classify severity of cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) (17m 38s) Sital Shah - Consultant Hepatology Pharmacist, King’s College Hospital London and Chair of the British Hepatology Phar...

Rakhi talks to Catherine and Kavan about optimising lipid management in patients who have had a haemorrhagic stroke. They discuss the importance of confirming diagnosis, risks of statin use in haemorrhagic stroke, how to use QRISK scores in this patient group, and when to seek specialist advice. This is a follow up podcast to our 'Primary care discussions: Lipid management' webinar. You can find t...

Rakhi talks to Catherine and Kavan about optimising lipid management in patients who have had an ischaemic stroke. They discuss the importance of confirming diagnosis, treatment targets, how to prioritise patient for review, and when to seek specialist advice. This is a follow up podcast to our 'Primary care discussions: Lipid management' webinar. You can find the webinar recording here: https://w...

Two of our experienced Medicines Advice Pharmacists, John Minshull and Iram Husain, discuss how medicines advice pharmacists answer queries safely. Quick Links Swallowing difficulties https://www.sps.nhs.uk/home/guidance/swallowing-difficulties/ Covert administration of medicines: legal issues https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/covert-administration-of-medicines-legal-issues/ Covert administration of...

Kieran Reynolds talks to Dr Alicia Demirjian and James Milner about some of the clinical issues you may encounter when providing the new Pharmacy First service to children. Discussion includes practical hints and tips for examining children, how to manage parents’ expectations as well as reassure them about their child’s treatment. (13m 41s) Dr Alicia Demirjian – Paediatric infectious diseases con...

Kieran Reynolds talks to Naomi Fleming and Reena Barai about some of the clinical issues you may encounter when providing the uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) service under Pharmacy First. Discussion includes measures taken to limit the impact of antimicrobial resistance from Pharmacy First and why urine dipsticks aren’t recommended in the uncomplicated UTI service in Pharmacy First. (1...

Kieran Reynolds talks to Professor Nick Francis and Rahul Sharda about some of the clinical issues you may encounter when providing the otitis media service under Pharmacy First. Discussion includes information to provide patients who don’t require antibiotics, signposting to resources to help with otoscope examination and why the otitis media service is limited to individuals aged 1-17 years. (15...

Kieran Reynolds talks to Professor Paul Little and Simran Sirpal about some of the clinical issues you may encounter when providing the sore throat service under Pharmacy First. Discussion includes the FeverPAIN score, information to provide patients who don’t require antibiotics, strep A antigen tests, and exclusions from the PGDs. (11m 58s) Professor Paul Little - GP & Professor of Primary Care...