Una attended as a PDA delegate after the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) extended an invitation to the conference. On the day, Una had the opportunity to listen to various presentations and panel events and network with others to inform them of the PDA’s activity to improve the working lives of pharmacists. Following the conference, Una is now urging PDA members in NI to get in touch to share their views so that these can be shared to help influence and support the improvement of health services in NI.
The conference was opened by an address by the current health minister, Mike Nesbitt who spoke of having ‘a razor-like focus on improving efficiency and productivity of health services’. Mike reiterated that his primary focus would be on addressing inequalities, waiting lists, primary and community care, and mental health services while striving for wider reform across the entirety of health and social care. He also acknowledged that the pace of reform would be impacted by the funding available and stated that he had submitted a request for a priority to be on the transformation fund for the deployment of a full and complete multidisciplinary team (MDT) to all GP Practices in NI.
Professor Rafael Bengoa, author of ‘The Bengoa Report’, then quoting his own words from his previous visit, “Avoiding change is not a safe or responsible course of action.”
Professor Bengoa then went on to speak of the three principles that any healthcare organisation should follow which are, strategic clarity, organisational clarity, and building a management structure for change. He spoke of a necessary shift from micromanaging to macromanaging and allowing innovation to occur from the ground up. He said organisations should be, “tight on outcomes but loose on the means used to achieve those outcomes.”
Professor Bengoa then said healthcare professionals should have the freedom to innovate and that managers should learn from their execution. Finally, he spoke of the challenge of preparing strategically for change, while fixing other problems in the short term, and how to balance these priorities.
NI’s Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Cathy Harrison also held a presentation where she spoke on the rollout of pharmacists in GP Practices and how this had proven that it has represented value for money. The presentation also covered how having a pharmacist as part of clinical teams increased GP capacity and that pharmacists in this sector were ready to take on advanced clinical roles.
Cathy continued to discuss the strategy for community pharmacy and how this sector had contributed to the vaccination effort. She pointed out that drug spend in the NHS was the second biggest cost in health services and how community pharmacy is well placed to make interventions that provide significant cost savings.
Other presentations of the day highlighted the benefit of MDTs and called for the immediate deployment of a full MDT in all GP practices in NI. Presenters also highlighted that of the 27 GP contracts handed back in the previous reporting period, none of them had had the full MDT in place.
Una O’Farrell said, “The conference was a timely reminder of the potential for pharmacists and pharmaceutical care to become embedded in the integration of services. Professor Bengoa’s recommendations echo what the PDA has continued to campaign for which is that tripartite discussion between the Department of Health as commissioners, employer bodies, and trade unions, should take place early in plans for service reform.
As it stands, there is no structured career progression currently in place in community pharmacy and ongoing pay disputes in primary care as employer organisations have overlooked these aspects when embarking on contract negotiations. The time is now for PDA members to step forward and let their opinions be known so that their interests can be represented and factored into arrangements that affect them. I urge members to contact me directly to get involved, at Una.O’Farrell@pda-union.org.”
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