Exploring Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Their Current Role in Mental Health Trusts in England: A Qualitative Study
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Aims and Objectives
2.2. Study Design and Venues
2.3. Participants and Recruitment
2.4. Research Instrument
2.5. Data Collection and Analysis
2.6. Ethics and Informed Consent
3. Results
3.1. Qualitative Findings
3.1.1. Theme 1: Roles and Responsibilities
Medication Management
I would answer queries from consultants in the public of our outpatient services regarding specific medication choices in patients with complex physical and mental health background.(P2)
I’m responsible for running what we call an insight report which is a basic report which highlights all the high levels above 600 micrograms litre per every week and then we have to report those back to the clinicians directly and also document everything in the patient notes”(P7)
If patient requires switch from a medication to another medication either because patient wishes to change to something else or the side effect profile is not there is not something that patient can tolerate and then we help with the consultant to come with the alternative plan(P8)
We have to assess their compliance to the medications and sometimes it requires seeing each patient a few times throughout their stay.(P3)
Monitoring for new prescriptions and making sure that new prescriptions are clinically checked, professionally checked and appropriately ordered.(P9)
Every day we’re dealing with clozapine, which is, as you are probably aware of, a very high-risk drug if it’s not properly monitored.(P7)
If somebody is on lithium, there are certain requirements and monitoring is required that we have to prompt our team to do the regular blood test.(P8)
Clinical Involvement
We review the guidelines and give recommendations as a team… Discussing treatment plans for patients, monitoring progress, and making recommendations with references.(P4)
Sometimes also consultations to speak to patients about any adverse reactions, treatment choice, and explanations of their new medications, especially for high-risk medications like clozapine and lithium.(P2)
We call and check that medications are ordered and patients are taking them continuously…We contact community mental health teams to make sure plans are followed.(P4)
Operational Duties
I’ll be involved in the dispensary and making sure the dispensary is running properly and potentially accuracy checking dispensed medication.(P9)
When I arrive at work, I checked to see if we got any discharges… if it’s a short-term leave, how many days? How many of this tablet do we need?(P1)
Involvement in Teaching, Research, and Quality Assurance
We’ll look at like evidence-based situations… NICE guidelines… recommendations from the RPS… Maybe we should try this.(P1)
I work as a teacher practitioner pharmacist and my role is split 50/50 between teaching at (mentions the university) and working in a mental health setting.(P10)
Leadership and Strategic Roles
I’m a lead pharmacist, so I’m leading a team of other Band 7 pharmacists and technicians.(P8)
And then I’m involved in a variety of the governance, and operational roles…pharmacological Therapies Committee, approval of policies and new drugs…governance processes within the Secure Care service.(P9)
3.1.2. Theme 2: Positive Aspects and Satisfaction
Satisfaction
I get a lot more job satisfaction from working here… it’s really good to be able to sit down… and figure out something that will actually benefit them.(P1)
When we have pharmacists on the team, the patient intervention is there much quicker and more efficiently.(P8)
Recognition of Mental Health and Pharmacy Services
I feel proud of my work because I feel like with mental health, not a lot of people, as pharmacists, want to do it.(P10)
The attitudes in a younger generation are a bit changing.(P2)
It’s better than before… 5–10 years ago to now is better. Most people do understand that mental health is like physical health.(P4)
Since COVID, I think the whole British population are quite willing to talk about… the troubles that they’re going through.(P6)
Positive Impacts on Patients
You’ve had that consultation with the patient that you know there’s a particular medication that they. You want them to try all the team wants them to try, but they’ve got reservations about it and you can go and clear those reservations up and give them reassurance that what they’re thinking might not be the case.(P11)
3.1.3. Theme 3: Challenges and Barriers
Stigma and Attitudes Towards Mental Health
Role Ambiguity and Interdisciplinary Collaboration
I think as a healthcare provider, pharmacists sometimes are underrated. We don’t appreciate how much of an input we can have.(P8)
Educational and Practice Gaps
Difficult Patient Interactions
Because obviously mental health patients, depending on their condition, vary very much at their level of engagement and the quality of the interaction. So it’s not just straightforward explaining something to somebody.(P7)
You get conflicts with the carers or family and friends of the patients as well about what is the right thing.(P2)
Institutional Challenges
My son being a physio student gets the £5000 a year learning support and gets travel expenses for placements. Physio, OT, and nursing students get that. Pharmacy doesn’t.(P9)
3.1.4. Theme 4: Views and Recommendations
Views About Supplementary Courses
I found that the prescribing course was heavily weighted to physical things, which are important, but there just wasn’t enough in there for me to then go back to my practice and say, ‘OK, well, I learned this.(P10)
When you do that [postgraduate certification], then you kind of get to learn about a lot of different things within mental health. And then you can apply that to the get the resources, you get the knowledge.(P3)
Views About Prescribing for Pharmacists
Some will not want to prescribe because they’re not confident; some are going to be overconfident and wanting to prescribe without any kind of experience in a particular area.(P7)
Recommendations
3.1.5. Interpretation and Semantic Linkages
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Participant Information | Sample Count (n) | Percentage (%) |
---|---|---|
Gender identity | ||
Man | 2 | 18.2 |
Woman | 9 | 81.8 |
Age group | ||
Less than 30 years | 3 | 27.3 |
Between 31 and 40 years | 3 | 27.3 |
Between 41 and 50 years | 2 | 18.2 |
Between 51 and 60 years | 2 | 18.2 |
Above 60 years | 1 | 9.1 |
Highest level of Pharmacy-related education and training | ||
MPharm | 4 | 36.4 |
Postgraduate Diploma | 2 | 18.2 |
Independent prescriber | 4 | 36.4 |
Postgraduate MSc | 1 | 9.1 |
Workplace * | ||
PPH at BHNHSFT | 5 | 45.5 |
BSMHFT | 6 | 54.5 |
Average weekly working hours | ||
Between 8 and 24 h | 2 | 18.2 |
Between 25 and 40 h | 8 | 72.7 |
More than 40 h | 1 | 9.1 |
Working at another setting | ||
No, I do not work in any other healthcare setting | 9 | 81.8 |
Yes, I also work in another healthcare setting | 2 | 18.2 |
Work experience in the UK | ||
Less than 5 years | 2 | 18.2 |
Between 5 and 10 years | 1 | 9.1 |
Between 11 and 15 years | 3 | 27.3 |
Between 16 and 20 years | 1 | 9.1 |
More than 20 years | 4 | 36.4 |
Training or continuing education programmes in mental health in last 5 years | ||
No | 4 | 36.4 |
Yes | 7 | 63.6 |
Time spent on training and/or continuing education programmes in last 5 years | ||
0–30 h | 1 | 9.1 |
31–60 h | 1 | 9.1 |
More than 60 h | 5 | 45.5 |
Not applicable (if the option ‘No’ was selected in previous question) | 4 | 36.4 |
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Share and Cite
Naqvi, A.A.; Umair Khan, M.; Nguyen, H.; Karim, L.; Said, A.; Nnadi, A. Exploring Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Their Current Role in Mental Health Trusts in England: A Qualitative Study. Healthcare 2025, 13, 2602. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13202602
Naqvi AA, Umair Khan M, Nguyen H, Karim L, Said A, Nnadi A. Exploring Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Their Current Role in Mental Health Trusts in England: A Qualitative Study. Healthcare. 2025; 13(20):2602. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13202602
Chicago/Turabian StyleNaqvi, Atta Abbas, Muhammad Umair Khan, Hung Nguyen, Lee Karim, Asha Said, and Adaora Nnadi. 2025. "Exploring Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Their Current Role in Mental Health Trusts in England: A Qualitative Study" Healthcare 13, no. 20: 2602. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13202602
APA StyleNaqvi, A. A., Umair Khan, M., Nguyen, H., Karim, L., Said, A., & Nnadi, A. (2025). Exploring Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Their Current Role in Mental Health Trusts in England: A Qualitative Study. Healthcare, 13(20), 2602. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13202602