BOPA & UKONS Conference 2009

National policy

Oncology pharmacy perspective

Following on from Mike Richards, Anne Hines, Network Pharmacist at Merseyside and Cheshire Cancer Network, pulled no punches. She began her talk by saying that the recent National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD), “highlighted complacency and shoddiness throughout the UK.”

From her pharmacy perspective, the recently finalised recommendations on acute oncology services, issued by the National Chemotherapy Advisory Group (NCAG), represent huge challenges, but also opportunities. With more patients being treated closer to home or on non-specialist wards—by non-specialist pharmacists—Anne raised concerns about accurate communication of drugs and therapy regimens. She was also concerned about the sources of pharmacy advice available to support out-of-hours care. Previously, it was the pharmacist and the oncology nurse who checked chemotherapy before any drug was given, but traditional roles and boundaries are becoming blurred.

In response to these worries, Anne revealed details of a 3-year plan from BOPA, to include web-based education and training at both a local and a regional level, with relevant accreditation. Additionally, she recognised the desire for pharmacists to carry out research and proposed that there should be a BOPA research network, as well as a BOPA research award. She also commented that the Cancer Network Pharmacists Forum was looking at better commissioning and suggested that pharmacists need to raise their game on horizon scanning, policies, procedures and alerts, as well as NICE appraisals and patient access schemes.

She stated that recent reports, such as the document from NCAG, far from being “all doom and gloom”, were actually empowering nurses and pharmacists to ask awkward questions, check everything and have the courage of their convictions. Together, she felt sure nurses and pharmacists could achieve great things.

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