The PJ Pod

Over the last decade, the development of targeted therapies has significantly changed the way that chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is treated. Survival and life expectancy has improved, and this patient cohort is living and receiving treatment for longer than ever before. These changes have meant that the involvement of pharmacists across all sectors in the treatment of CLL patients has also evolved significantly.

In this episode of The PJ Pod, Caitlin Killen, assistant clinical editor, speaks to a patient who has been living with CLL for 17 years, as well as with two pharmacists involved in the care of CLL patients, to understand how pharmacists can best support patients with CLL.

Many thanks to expert patient Anthea Holland; Catherine Parbutt, consultant pharmacist for cancer services, The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; and Tejal Gorasia, principal cancer pharmacist, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, for their expertise.

This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh.

In this learning episode, we look at the latest developments in migraine treatment where new classes of drugs are starting to provide additional options for patients and prescribers.

For links to relevant articles and further resources on migraine treatment visit the PJ website.

Many thanks to Kerri Spalding, a migraine patient, advocate and fundraiser, and Mathew Garrod, lead pharmacist for neurosciences and specialist pharmacist at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, for their expertise and insights.

This programme is presented by Alex Clabburn, senior editor — research and learning and was produced by Geoff Marsh.

Drones are already being used to transport medicines in several countries around the world, including the United States, Australia, Switzerland and Rwanda, but what’s the story in the UK, where the road infrastructure is good and the airspace is small and busy? Is there a need for medical drone deliveries? Are they safe and would they be a viable option for the NHS?

These are questions that senior features editor Dawn Connelly investigates in this episode of The PJ Pod. We hear from the experts behind several projects across the UK as they test the feasibility of using drones to deliver NHS medicines.

Thank you to Paul Royall, senior lecturer in pharmaceutics at King’s College London; Arthur Mendez, a research and development engineer with drone development company HeroTech8; Mark Knowles, head of production at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Christopher Law, co-founder of healthcare drone logistics start-up Apian; Jamie Hogg, clinical lead for the CAELUS project for the north of Scotland; and Anthony McDavitt, director of pharmacy for NHS Shetland.

This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh, with editorial support from executive editor Carolyn Wickware.

In this episode of The PJ Pod, we look at how pharmacists can become more involved in research, by hearing directly from those who have done just that. We speak to the members of our OPERA 2024 shortlist, and winner, as well as Parastou Donyai, chief scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, to explore some of the practical steps that individuals can take when starting out, while also considering the skills and characteristics that can help pharmacists thrive as researchers.

Many thanks to the OPERA 2024 shortlist: Zoe Edwards, Ryan McNally, Anneka Mitchell, Anna Robinson-Barella and Sion Scott, and to Parastou Donyai, for their contributions.

This programme is presented by Caitlin Killen, assistant clinical editor, research and learning, and produced by Geoff Marsh.

The ‘NHS mental health implementation plan 2019/20–2023/24’, published by NHS England in July 2019, identified a need for “new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care” to support 370,000 adults and older adults with severe mental illness (SMI).

With many of these patients on psychotropic medication, such as clozapine, lithium, valproate and antidepressants, to treat a range of conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and eating disorders, the plan aimed to recruit 260 pharmacists into integrated community care teams by April 2024.

However, an investigation by The Pharmaceutical Journal in May 2024 revealed that there are 160.95 whole-time equivalent pharmacists in adult SMI community services across 43 out of 49 mental health trusts that responded to a freedom of information request.

In this ‘Spotlight’ episode of The PJ Pod, Carolyn Wickware, executive editor, and reporter Tammy Lovell discuss the funding that was offered to set up these teams and how it was used, and what happens now that the implementation plan has ended.

This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh.

Please note that this episode includes discussions of war and injury that may be distressing to some listeners, with stories from pharmacists working in Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza.

Horrific stories of injury and death in war zones across the world have become a staple of daily news headlines since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In an effort to help, the UK government and grassroots organisations have sent packages of aid — including medicines — to support local healthcare systems. However, pharmacists on the ground have reported that large portions of the supplies sent go to waste and have called for a shift towards aid that is more targeted to the needs of their patients.

In this episode of The PJ Pod, David Lipanovic, senior clinical reporter, speaks to pharmacists with first-hand experience in sourcing medicines to treat patients with both chronic and acute conditions in areas of conflict. We hear from them about what medicines their patients desperately need and what happens to when medicines that are not needed go to waste.

Thank you to Saleyha Ahsan, a humanitarian doctor undertaking research into how patients are impacted by the destruction of healthcare in war zone at the University of Cambridge; María Alejandra Martin Escalona, a humanitarian pharmacist working for Doctors Without Borders; Mark Koziol, chair of the Pharmacists’ Defence Association; and Catherine Duggan, chief executive of the International Pharmaceutical Federation.

This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh, with editorial support from executive editor Carolyn Wickware.

As we reach the end of 2023, this final podcast episode of the year continues our annual tradition of looking back at the biggest stories to affect pharmacy teams across the UK, while reflecting on our highlights from The PJ Pod over the past 12 months.

While 2023 has been a significant year for pharmacy, with the announcement of a new NHS 'Pharmacy First' service in England and accelerating plans for pharmacist prescribers, we also venture to make our predictions for the year ahead.

Please do let us know what you think we have missed in this episode on social media, using the hashtag #PJPod or email us at: [email protected].

This episode is presented by Carolyn Wickware, executive editor, and produced by Geoff Marsh. Thank you to Alex Clabburn, senior editor — research and learning; Dawn Connelly, senior features editor; Michael Dowdall, executive editor — research and learning; David Lipanovic, senior clinical reporter; and Tammy Lovell, RPS correspondent, for their contributions.

From 2026, all pharmacists will be independent prescribers when they first qualify. But that leaves a whole cohort of non-prescribing pharmacists already in the workforce, many of whom do not want to be left behind.

In this episode of The PJ Pod, we accompany three pharmacists — Isabel Macho and Isheeta Mendiratta, who work in primary care, and community pharmacist Rachael Patel — as they train to become independent prescribers. We get the inside track on what motivates them and how they have managed to complete the course alongside a demanding job, as well as the highs and the lows, and whether it was all worth it.

We also hear from Danny Bartlett, a primary care network pharmacist, who is a designated prescribing practitioner and teaches on the University of Brighton's independent prescribing course. He gives insights on how to succeed on the course and what needs to change to smooth the path for more pharmacists in the workforce to become independent prescribers.

This episode was presented by Dawn Connelly, senior features editor, and produced by Geoff Marsh.

In November 2023, an investigation by The Pharmaceutical Journal revealed that two-thirds of patient safety incidents related to homecare medicine provision were for services provided by the company Sciensus, according to the latest data provided by NHS trusts.

The findings came after the House of Lords Public Services Committee opened an inquiry into homecare medicines services in May 2023, following press reports of complaints from patient organisations and others about the service provided.

The inquiry has since published its findings, warning that “serious problems” with the provision and governance of homecare medicines services in England are putting patients’ health at risk.

In this ‘Spotlight’ episode of The PJ Pod, Carolyn Wickware, executive editor, Dawn Connelly, senior features editor, and freelance journalist Alison Moore explain the investigation’s findings, as well as the impact on patients and what the next steps are towards improving homecare services.

This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh.

The term 'deprescribing' refers to the tapering, stopping, discontinuing, or withdrawing of medications for the benefit of patients. It was first used 20 years ago in an article titled 'Deprescribing: achieving better health outcomes for older people through reducing medications' by Michael C. Woodward. Since then, the body of literature has exploded.

In this 'spotlight' episode of The PJ Pod, we talk to the author of a paper about deprescribing inappropriate analgesia in community pharmacy, from our sister journal, the International Journal of Pharmacy Practice (IJPP), and to the guest editor of a themed collection on deprescribing, which was recently published by IJPP. The collection features a range of article types from across the globe and captures the breadth of research that is taking place across sectors in different patient groups, to better understand how deprescribing can become part of routine practice.