1. TIPS REGARDING FORMATTING
A collaborative and integrated approach to improve urgent and emergency care using clinical pharmacists
TIPS REGARDING FORMATTING
Use graphic elements, like boxes, to highlight each section of your poster.
Use space to create emphasis.
Use no more than 2-3 colours, and dark type on a light background.
Conclusions first, keep them short and to the point in the upper left-hand corner.
Simple graphs are effective graphs.
Make the text big enough to read.
Use Arial or Lato font.
ALWAYS left align the text.
Keep your headings the same size and style throughout.
Avoid chaos, keep the layout easy for the eye to follow.
Images and graphs say more than words, so keep your poster visual.
If you are using a photo, avoid web images – use at least 150 dpi, but no more than 300 dpi.
Don’t forget any other logos where necessary.
Title: 85pt Authors: 36 pt
Sub-headings: 36pt
Body text: 24pt
Captions: 18pt
Situation
Healthy London Partnership has played an important role in bringing together local system partners to promote a collaborative and integrated approach on the use of the pharmacy workforce and optimising the use of medicines to support urgent and emergency care pathway improvement
HLP recognises that the current pharmacy workforce is being under-utilised and is an accessible and valuable resource, with a wealth of expertise, and perfectly placed to support the demands and help to relieve the pressure on our urgent & emergency care services.
We already know medicines are a crucial element of almost every type of care, and by far the most common form of healthcare intervention. Medicines optimisation has a major influence on delivering better health outcomes for patients across care pathways.
It was clear that dedicated efforts are needed to embrace new ways of working to realise the opportunities that the pharmacy workforce and delivering effective medicines optimisation can offer to deliver improvements in urgent and emergency care within priority areas by working as part of an integrated team.
What did HLP do to support?
By acting in an enabler role, HLP worked closely with STP/CCGs and local systems to support the deployment of pharmacy professionals into a number of new care settings within three priority areas:
Integrating pharmacists into NHS 111/Integrated Urgent Care
HLP played a key role in co-ordinating the process as well as supporting the five STP areas in London for submission of bids to access funding for deploying prescribing pharmacists  into Integrated Urgent Care Clinical Assessment Service (IUC CAS) contact centres and NHS111 services as part of NHS England’s Integrated Urgent Care (IUC) Pharmacists Programme.
Delivering medicines optimisation in care homes
HLP’s Enhanced Health in Care Home programme for London helped to establish a London-wide STP wide medicines optimisation in care homes network. HLP supported STP Medicines Optimisation Care Home Leads in their development of bids for new funding to recruit additional pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to support delivery of innovative medicines optimisation models in London.
Optimising medicines discharge processes to improve patient flow
HLP are supporting the initial scoping and stakeholder engagement to implement the Electronic Medicines Optimisation Pathway (EMOP) project, also known nationally as Transfers of care around medicines (TCAM), to improve electronic communication from the hospital to community pharmacists within Barking and Dagenham, Havering & Redbridge. This pathway aims to enable timely follow up for patients who have had new medications and/or medication changes during their hospital stay. This project forms part of a wider programme of HLP work to improve existing discharge pathways and processes that will contribute to achieving reductions in length of stay within the Barking and Dagenham, Havering & Redbridge system.
TIPS REGARDING FORMATTING
Use graphic elements, like boxes, to highlight each section of your poster.
Use space to create emphasis.
Use no more than 2-3 colours, and dark type on a light background.
Conclusions first, keep them short and to the point in the upper left-hand corner.
Simple graphs are effective graphs.
Make the text big enough to read.
Use Arial or Lato font.
ALWAYS left align the text.
Keep your headings the same size and style throughout.
Avoid chaos, keep the layout easy for the eye to follow.
Images and graphs say more than words, so keep your poster visual.
If you are using a photo, avoid web images – use at least 150 dpi, but no more than 300 dpi.
Don’t forget any other logos where necessary.
What did HLP deliver?
HLP helped to deliver effective partnership working by utilising our experience in whole system working which has led to:
STPs in London successfully securing funding for 15 new NHS 111/Integrated Urgent Care Pharmacist posts working as part of an MDT team in the IUC CAS. All Pharmacists have enrolled on the prescribing qualification in January /Sept 2018 as part of the training pathway requirements for this new role.
All areas in London from each STP successfully submitting their applications and recruitment completed to bring new pharmacists (13.63WTE) and pharmacy technicians (4.54 WTE) into existing care home teams. The posts are already helping to drive up the quality of care provided within our London care homes by putting in place robust medicines systems to reduce waste and inefficiency, reduce the risk of patient harm through effective medicines optimisation, targeted medicines support for elderly patients and people with learning disabilities, and establishing a community of practice to support care homes.
HLP partnering with UCLPartners to support the Barking and Dagenham, Havering & Redbridge Medicines Optimisation Leads to deliver the EMOP. The project is currently being scoped but once rolled out will help to deliver additional benefits to the wider healthcare system by reducing hospital readmissions as well as providing additional care capacity through shorter hospital stays. The EMOP has already been successfully implemented within parts of East of England, notably Suffolk and Hertfordshire, with patients benefiting with improved medicines safety at transfer of care from hospital.
For more information about this work please contact Healthy London Partnership via
@healthyLDN