Remember the Hidden Heroes of the NHS

Alexander Marks
Posted on

Happy National Pharmacist Day everyone!

Today we have a guest blog from a friend of The Hub who is a pharmacy technician in the NHS. Its very easy to forget about the crucial task that they carry out to help keep our health system functioning – especially over the last couple years when they have been busier than ever. Anton explains exactly what it is that NHS pharmacies do for us.

And with that, over to Anton…

With NHS workers being in the news more than ever now is a good time to discuss the role of pharmacy. Pharmacy is an often overlooked department within hospitals but one that provides a vital function concerning patient medication. The myth is that pharmacy’s job is little more than putting tablets in boxes but I assure you we do so much more than that.

Staff members across a variety of roles spend a lot of time on the wards. Routine visits from pharmacy staff ensure that each ward is always stocked with commonly used drugs like painkillers and antibiotics. Our medicines management technicians take drug histories from patients on arrival to ensure that they continue to receive all regular medication during their stay. These days patients are encouraged to bring their regular medication with them into hospital and these technicians are responsible for assessing the drugs to make sure they’re in a usable condition. They will also help to review medication during longer stays. When new drugs are prescribed we work closely with medical and nursing staff to ensure there are no problems like allergies or interactions.

Meanwhile, back in the dispensary, staff continually dispense medication for inpatient use, discharge, and clinics. Every prescription passes through multiple hands in order to get to you. A pharmacist screens the prescription to ensure everything is appropriate. Then our dispensing team will label and assemble the items. Finally, a checker who could be an accredited technician or a pharmacist will finally check the items to ensure everything is correct and in date. Only then can this be released to the patient.

But it doesn’t stop there. We have dedicated teams who receive our wholesale orders and ensure everything goes away in the correct place. Some of the larger pharmacies have robots, which are a great help, but there’s still a huge number of tablets, capsules, and liquids that pass through the pharmacy on a daily basis and they all need to find space on our shelves. Then there’s the procurement team who work with suppliers to keep pharmacy stocked, which is especially challenging right now as supply chains are disrupted.

Since the pandemic started pharmacy staff have been busier than ever. So the next time you hear about the pressures NHS workers face remember it’s not just doctors and nurses on the wards, there’s a whole pharmacy team working for you as well.

by Anton MacLeod

Loving A Tree

Loving A Tree

Alexander Marks
Posted on

Being in nature is naturally positive, it creates space in the mind and has many physical benefits as well. 

Many people found that getting out into nature helped them hugely during the lockdown periods, tending gardens, growing veg. Lots of people discovered that they had time to really connect with nature, perhaps for the first time in many years. This gave them a sense of space and perspective.

Photo by veeterzy on Unsplash

Some people also took on personal projects to care for a green space, a garden or area, and as a result saw a corresponding improvement in their mental wellbeing. During the pandemic we have been very aware of our impact as humans on the natural world, and so by caring for nature on a personal level it feels like a way to give back rather than take, and to reconnect or start to make some amends.

Taking care of our natural world and the beings we share it with gives us something positive to do and something to care for. Especially at a time when our freedoms have been restricted, when we could not see or spend time with the people we would like to, the energy and desire to nurture and commune needs to be expressed somewhere to avoid feeling sad, lonely, or angry.

Today is actually Love A Tree day, and so to mark that here is a personal account from my very dear Mum who lives many miles away from me down in Devon.  She writes about how taking care of a struggling sapling that she found in her local park has helped her to keep positive during the lonely months of the lockdown.

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The Lockdown Tree

I call it The Lockdown Tree because I got to know it during the first Lockdown. It helped me survive the isolation from family and friends. It needed help and I could help it – and so we helped each other. 

It had been planted by volunteers at the edge of a row of nut trees but unlike its peers, it was neglected and almost overwhelmed by creepers, nettles, and brambles. But it was determined and had managed to push a branch out with a few leaves visible.  

Walking for exercise one day I noticed it, and realised I could help. So the next months – armed with scissors and gloves – were spent clearing all around the little tree and pulling up the nettles that separated it from its nearest neighbour tree. 

It grew and grew and then one day I saw a bird resting on one of its branches. Wonderful. It gave me hope.

So to the end of the story so far. Two days ago (14months from the start of of the lockdowns) I went to visit the tree and saw that the man who cuts the grass in the park had carefully cut the grass all around the thickening trunk and between it and its neighbour! It belonged at last. It was happy, I could tell. 

My friend the tree, taken early this morning.

I will continue to walk there and talk to the tree as I did all those bleak months. I say Thank You to the tree. 

And I believe it says Thank You to me.

Jane