NHS Borders Primary Care Pharmacy Teams

NHS Borders has several Pharmacy Teams providing a clinical service within the Primary Care setting.

The teams consist of:-

Team

Role

Contact

Pharmacotherapy:  practice-based pharmacists

Delivery of the GMS contract

Sessional work in GP practices to process:

  • Acute prescriptions
  • Limited repeat requests
  • Medicines information queries

Via GP practice administration mailbox

 

Pharmacotherapy: Hub-based pharmacy technicians

Delivery of GMS contract

Centrally based Pharmacy Technician-led service to deliver consisting of pharmacy technicians and pharmacy support staff:

  • Medicines Reconciliation of hospital discharge and clinic letters
  • Implementation of serial prescriptions & TSRs
  • Support with medicine shortage queries
  • Notify community pharmacies for patients using MAR charts and MCAs as well as instalment dispensing

Via shared mailboxes for Pharmacotherapy East or Pharmacotherapy West teams

Realistic Medicine Pharmacy Service

Team consists of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

  • Undertake medicines management and polypharmacy reviews by referral.
  • Liaise with social care providers regarding packages of care as required.
  • Review of patients in care homes.

Refer to Realistic Medicine Pharmacy Referral (RMPR) Team via email

Prescribing Support Team

 

Team consists of Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technician & Pharmacy Support Workers. Working on:

  • Prescribing Efficiency projects
  • Prescribing Improvement projects
  • Supporting prescribing with management of East Region Formulary on GPIT systems
  • Managing Scriptswitch software

Via Prescribing Support Team inbox

Community Pharmacy Team - Shared mailbox

Administrative and governance support for community pharmacies (i.e. submission of claims, requests for specials authorisation, notification of closure).

 

Via Community Pharmacy Team mailbox.

As you can see from this list of tasks there will be many occasions when you, as a community pharmacy team, will need to liaise with the primary care pharmacy team.

The Pharmacotherapy Workflow outlines the job role and responsibilities of Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians working within Pharmacotherapy.

Having a good working relationship with your primary care pharmacy team members will help smooth the patient journey between the various interfaces of care.

If a member of the pharmacy team is not available, urgent queries need to be sent to the duty GP.  Please follow the procedure outlined.

 

Useful resources

Delivering  the new GMS contract in Scotland: memorandum of understanding. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/delivering-the-new-gms-contract-in-scotland-memorandum-of-understanding/ [accessed 13 December 2022]

2021 update to 2018 Scottish GMS contract. Available at: https://www.bma.org.uk/pay-and-contracts/contracts/gp-contract/2021-update-to-2018-scottish-gms-contract [accessed 13 December 2022]