3.2. Integration
It was noted that there was a lack of understanding and clarity around the new role from the start, during recruitment and integration into the emergency departments, with some pharmacists expressing much frustration.
“So in terms of the whole process the only thing that I would say is I feel like from, from our Trust, weren’t really told about the process well enough. I didn’t know that I was going into a pilot. Not really, until I went to that first meeting and I was like, oh, right, now I see. I’m doing this new thing. I knew it was a new initiative”. IUCCP 4.
“We weren’t told from our Trust properly what was going on. And there were other pharmacists out there that were changing their roles, and this was a new thing that they were doing and they were fitting into the urgent care system. We were just told that this is a new exciting thing where you are going to be working with NHS 111 and that was about it. You are going to be doing some shifts over there and it will be great experience, and something to add to your CV, and things like that”. IUCCP 4.
“So it didn’t work well at all … and basically it seemed like all the high level discussions about how great it would be to have a pharmacist in this post and agreeing the funding, it seemed like all of that had happened but the reality of what I would be doing and where I would be working and the conversations with urgent care and the emergency department, it seemed like that just didn’t happen prior to me coming into post which in my opinion it should have”. IUCCP 8.
Pharmacists reported a lack of a clearly defined role, and indeed some departments were not aware that they had been recruited; this made integration difficult.
“I think at the minute I haven’t really got a proper defined role and job tasks that I can do and contribute to. So I’ve got time on my hands which I’m not used to having”. IUCCP 1.
“I wouldn’t say gone particularly well. No. I feel like I have wasted hours and hours doing things without any real result at the end of it”. IUCCP 1.
“I met the consultant and he basically said he was annoyed that he didn’t know that I was coming and I was annoyed that he didn’t talk. We were both saying the same thing. So my understanding of the role is that we think we are going to develop but really being a traditional pharmacist in Accident and Emergency (A&E) right now because I have never done…”. IUCCP 5
“One thing that was a bit frustrating in the beginning was that because I was the first pharmacist in this role it’s not very clear, people don’t really know what I can do, what I can’t do. And they don’t really know what they need if that makes sense. So initially when I went to urgent care, they didn’t know they were getting a pharmacist. What is it you are going to do? So it was a bit difficult to start to see where it was that they wanted me”. IUCCP 6.
It should be noted that two of the developed themes overlapped—that is, integration and benefits. It was generally felt that integration into the Trust Departments would have been better had the A&E teams been aware of the benefits that they (the pharmacists) could bring.
“The main thing would be if A&E had buy in, it was something they could identify and understand the value of. That would be the biggest thing really. I feel at the minute there is nobody who. I probably don’t feel supported. Nobody necessarily wants me in there”. IUCCP 1.
“It’s so brand-new half the problem is trying to get to know people. And seeing the need. If you don’t have a clue what the need is how can you do anything”. IUCCP 5.
“And I think that wasn’t properly explained. I tried to get some meetings to have a conversation and explain and I was stonewalled from that point so I couldn’t even explain. So judgements were made about what I could and couldn’t do, and what the role was about before I had even had a chance to explain to anyone or talk to anyone about what it was and where I could potentially add value”. IUCCP 8.
It should be noted that not all pharmacists had the same experience of integration, with some pharmacists describing how their integration into the emergency department was smooth because they had advocates in the system.
“They all knew I was coming. I just turned up one day and got on with it essentially. We have been involved in the clinical governance meetings within the emergency department as well. Plans for guideline implementation. Clinical Audit. Things like that. A lot of different things going on at once but the day to day role is generally just screening of patients, identifying, some days you have quite a lot of input, some days not as much, it just depends. But there is always something to be getting on with, that I can do in the background that can be used to aid us going forward”. IUCCP 3
“As we have developed our input within the role people within the department know who we are now, we are a port of call in terms of pharmacy related support”. IUCCP 3.
“Within our second day we were introduced to everyone at a clinical governance meeting. So no integration issues at all. We do have that structure. We have a pharmacist that understands our competence and is keen to develop it. But also is quite strong in protecting us. So not having someone go—just do that—he is like—no they are not appropriate, stop. He is very good at that”. IUCCP 2.
The experience of integrating into the 111/Clinical Assessment Service (CAS) seemed to be similar for all the pharmacists interviewed. All the pharmacists seemed to feel fully integrated into the 111 system and working at a level they felt appropriate. It should be noted however that initially the pharmacists did identify a few problems, such as poor access to computer systems, heavy reliance on 111 colleagues and the lack of standard operating procedures to refer to.
“The only thing that is a bit strange at the minute is you get a certain number of calls that come through to the clinical assessment hub and if there is nothing there that I can competently tackle I am just flicking through it just to get a brief overview of what is going on, and if I can’t answer their calls it’s a bit like, what should I do. But apparently, they have a new system coming in quite soon that is going to be able to match up a little bit more of the low acuity work with the high acuity work that comes through to the hub so hopefully that will change.”. IUCCP 3.
“Within 111 it’s been a bit of a slow start. There’s been a lot of niggling things to sort out in terms of access to computer systems, a number of the resources such as summary care record, general medication information, that we are so used to using within our work, we rely on it quite heavily as well, particularly when you don’t have that face to face contact with a patient. So that has been a bit of a struggle getting that sorted” IUCCP 3.
“When we first started there was no way of them actually identifying what calls are appropriate to us. But it is something that they recognise and it was to do with computer systems and they are updating, so that should improve”. IUCCP 2.
“I think we have been viewed very positively by the team. Everyone has been very welcoming. Embraced our role. I think over and above just answering the queries I think we’ve been asked other stuff, like day to day, so like one of the paramedics is in charge of resources and what prescriptions they should have, to medicines information reference texts”. IUCCP 7.
“So it was really nice. YYY was really supportive and we met and he showed me around and then gave me to a clinician and then I sat with them for a shift. So I understood for one shift. Then the next shift I watched what the clinical … team did. And then the next shift I started answering some calls”. IUCCP 5.
It was observed in interviews that integration would have been much smoother if the induction process at the 111 service were more cohesive.
Another problem identified with integration was deskilling of the pharmacists themselves.
“So I’ve done my prescribing and I haven’t continued with the clinical examination side of things since I’ve had the qualification really and I think normally prescribers are generally nurses and they are really hot on that sort of thing. And I don’t have those skills because I haven’t maintained them. So I can’t work to the same level as what they maybe anticipated possibly”. IUCCP 3.
3.3. Benefits
It was noted that the pharmacists, despite the early integration problems, have seen and experienced real benefits of their roles within either UC or 111, for example, preventing the wrong type of medication being administered and consistency of care. A good example is highlighted where pharmacists prevented the wrong medicines from being administered for a haemorrhagic stroke.
“So we ended up having this guy who came in with a headache and we managed to get him a CT scan because they were just across the road and he was having a haemorrhagic stroke so obviously we were getting him ready to ambulance him and send him up to hospital and the GP was saying we’ll give him some aspirin and I was saying “no, don’t give that” because the type of stroke it was it wouldn’t be appropriate to give that medication”. IUCCP 8.
“From the point of view of the emergency department I think the bulk of the good work is from continuity of care, making sure there is no change in what they would usually expect when they are at home”. IUCCP 3.
Another good example of service improvement is when a pharmacist set up processes within urgent care to screen for acute or chronic illness, for example, Parkinson’s disease.
“The idea is for us to screen for any acute or chronic medication issues, so for example if they are a Parkinson’s patient and they use Parkinson’s meds, the idea is that we identify that early in the process so that they are not missing any of these medications that could potentially lead to a further deterioration in their care and making sure that they have been prescribed and administered in a timely fashion. A lot of the times these patients do get admitted to inpatient wards and they would get this process later in the line, but it is making sure that there isn’t any avoidable harm that could be caused to the patient through not receiving medication”. IUCCP 3.
A number of pharmacists highlighted how clinicians might have reacted when other practitioners (e.g., nurse practitioners) were new in the urgent care environment.
“Think because it is so new everyone … working in A&E and urgent care there are nurse practitioners and I think to myself there must have been a time when they started that everyone was thinking, Oh, what is the value of a nurse practitioner in this, what can they do? And now that they are integrated into the service they are just an additional part of the team. So I think because it is fairly new people haven’t started to realise the benefits of having a pharmacist yet, but once we show what we can do in terms of adding patient safety and providing clinical support to the rest of the team then it will be a worthwhile role having a pharmacist there”. IUCCP 6.
The IUCCPs also discussed other benefits in terms of access to medication within the hospital setting and dealing with complicated medicines.
“So I helped get the drug because it wasn’t available in A&E because it’s not used commonly. So I helped the team find where it was in the hospital and we didn’t even have it in pharmacy so I had to borrow if from one of the cardiology wards. And advised how to run the infusion. So that’s the kind of thing sometimes we’d do in resus”. IUCCP 2.
“I am better at dealing with medication things but I think we are better at dealing with complicated patients. So in a way the urgent treatment centre is probably not the best use of us. We probably would be better off in an ED setting where medications are more complicated because that is where our advice is needed. Whereas in the urgent treatment centre it is simple analgesia and things”. IUCCP 8.
3.4. Training
In their interviews, all pharmacists identified problems in the mandatory training course they were required to attend as part of their programme, with issues around content, absence of accreditation and the lack of applicable learning for this new role.
“The course—it’s not bad. I think it’s got somethings that are sort of useful and you can see the benefit in parts of it, but I think it’s quite generalist. It’s not very specific to our needs in the North East. I think we’ve got quite a lot of things that would be useful alternatives to the course that could be delivered locally”. IUCCP 7.
In addition, the pharmacists interviewed highlighted the lack of accreditation on the course and how it mainly focused on the telephone consultation rather than working on face-to-face skills with patients in the urgent care setting.
“What I was surprised at was when I went to the first day of the course there were two things that they said that I wasn’t impressed with. I know it was a bit out of their control but they said that the course isn’t accredited so you aren’t going to get any points at the end of it which to me doesn’t make sense. And also it seems that the course is just focusing on telephone consultation skills. It doesn’t really fit what our role is. 20 percent of our role is going to be doing the telephone skills but 80 percent isn’t. So I think it would be better if the course focused also on the face to face consultation not just the telephone skills”. IUCCP 6.
A number of pharmacists indicated the lack of feedback from the course on progress made and module completion.
“So the course. I just think I have learnt stuff from it, I do think it is kind of useful in some aspects, but I just don’t think it is clear enough, what we need to do and what we need to hand in. I have handed in the first module but I still don’t know if I have done the right thing, I handed it in last week was the deadline date and I’ve done the first module but I don’t know if I’ve done it right, and I’m kind of just waiting for feedback for someone to tell me you’ve done it completely wrong. But I know … Who I think is running that I think she has mixed up a few days and the problem is they are running the course, I think there is new one running in March and stuff like that, I think they are getting mixed up by who is doing what and who is on what cohort”. IUCCP 4.
All the IUCCPs commented that training to deal with mental health issues during 111 calls would be especially useful, particularly in the management of suicidal patients. Being an independent prescriber and being able to prescribe would also bring additional benefits to the service. (Focus group).