My last post started at the Evelina children’s hospital in May 2016 as MMT which I left to take a career break in August 2023.
The position entailed taking drug history’s, supplying medicines, POD checks, periodic locker checks, liaising with staff and patients/parents, Omnicell operations, ensuring rapid discharge, dispensary duties when required.

No

A long standing colleague recommended me to TLA.

A mother very distressed at the dispensary awaiting her child’s discharge medication after an unsatisfactory experience on the ward.
Unfortunately her behaviour was having a very detrimental effect on her child who was having to be calmed down and restrained by dad.
I liaised between her and dispensary staff to keep her up-to-date, spoke to her very calmly, supplied tissues and the checker informed me it was being bagged. I relayed this to mum, apologised again and handed over the medication and she calmed down, thanked me and left to go home.

It is involved in the system of licensing in the dealing and manufacture of medicines.

N/A as I am not a prescriber.

Certainly reflection. Look at what happened, why it may have happened that way and look to see how I can do better or differently next time.

It is the continuing improvement in quality of care, services and safeguarding to ensure excellence in patient experience.

While performing a drug history/POD check for a child patient I noticed a medicine mum had been giving differed from the prescription. After clarifying with mum I took the bottle to the ward pharmacist, explained the situation and the correct medication was duly supplied by our pharmacy.
After looking up the possible side effects of the erroneous medicine (and knowing why the patient had been admitted twice in 2 months for unexplained sepsis… Hair fell out, chronic nosebleeds, palms and soles peeled) I realised the source of the patient’s current problems were due to a huge chronic overdosing of Vitamin A.
I brought this to the attention of the lead pharmacist for that ward and an investigation occurred.
Outcome was previous hospital refused to supply Co-enzyme Q10 sending pt to GP who refused to prescribe and issued Vit A instead with “ASD paediatric consultant” instructions.
Pharmacy dispensed Vit A labelled as Co-enzyme Q10 ASD. Mum carried on giving 3ml 3 times daily not knowing she was administering 450,000 units of Vit A daily. A mixture of bad prescribing and even worse screening!