Antrim hospital pharmacists win award

Clinical pharmacists at Antrim Area Hospital have won a UK-wide award for an innovative approach to patient care which merges medicine with technology.

Diane Holden and Donna Houston took home first prize at the PrescQIPP UK National Awards in Nottingham in the ‘technology to support medicines optimisation’ category.

Beating off stiff competition, their quality improvement project centred around a new approach to the self-management of medicines in the Northern Trust where patients are given access to an online video demonstrating how to safely administer essential blood-clotting injections (Enoxaparin) at home.

Filmed in a Trust facility, and starring Trust staff, the video offers a uniquely local context to patient resources. Designed to complement the in-person care and advice received in hospital, it includes both visual and verbal step-by step demonstrations, key safety points, and offers reassurance through repetition and visual cues.

The project was initially piloted in Antrim Area Hospital’s Emergency Department before it was extended throughout the hospital, and expanded to Causeway Hospital and outpatient clinics across the Trust. It has helped to transform patient involvement in their care, led to consistency in the delivery of training and created greater efficiency for staff in their working day.

The project was supported by the Northern Trust’s My Journey team which uses podcasts, webinars, and videos to aid the communication of clinical information to service users.

Welcoming its success, Julia Tolan, the Northern Trust’s Head of Pharmacy, said: “The safe use of medicines is at the heart of our work every day, and we all have a role to play when it comes to improved safety in the use of high-risk medicines.

“The Enoxaparin self-administration videos will have safety benefits for our patients and support healthcare teams in practice. I want to congratulate Donna, Diane and everyone involved across the clinical pharmacy and My Journey teams on winning this award and for their quality improvement approach to the design, development and production of this excellent resource.”

Results of patient questionnaires show improved confidence in administering injections, higher patient satisfaction with the education they have received and reduced anxiety and reluctance to self-inject.

One patient’s story helps to sum up the impact of the new resource on their experience: “I was ever so thankful to have access to this video at home. I was in a lot of pain following a fall and had badly hurt my ankle. When I was hit with the comment that I had to give myself injections for two weeks it was a bit of a shock.

“It is so busy in ED and although it was explained how to administer the injection, I was in such a daze, and I was so desperate to get home, most of what was said went in one ear and out the other. I arrived home and realised I did not really know what to do. The video is so clear and covers everything you would ever need to know. I was able to pause it and go back at times. It is an excellent resource and reinforces visually what to do.”