Nicola Wake talks to Melissa Melly, a pharmacy technician in GP practice.  Melly shares how she resolved a difficulty in arranging blood tests related to medicines monitoring by undertaking venepuncture training and delivering urgent or overdue blood test appointments in a weekly clinic.

Phlebotomy: a Pharmacy Technician Coffee Break Conversation

Audio from our webinar held on the 4 March 2025 which featured a facilitated case-based discussion about the complexities of polypharmacy and deprescribing. This was a follow on from our first webinar, which lays the foundations of some of the deprescribing tools available. (57m02s)

Speakers: 
Lelly Oboh: Older people lead, NHS SPS
Jasvir Singh Dhillon: Clinical pharmacist, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin ICB, & GP practices
Rakhi Aggarwal: Primary care lead, NHS SPS

Primary care discussions: personalised evidence-based medicine to minimise polypharmacy

Kieran Reynolds talks to Sonal Patel, Lead Hepatology Pharmacist about autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Discussion includes what AIH is, prevalence, diagnosis, treatment and how pharmacy professionals can contribute to the management of patients with AIH.  

Sonal Patel - Lead Hepatology Pharmacist, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Trust and Chief Pharmaceutical Officer’s Clinical Fellow 2024/25 at the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)  
Kieran Reynolds - Advanced Specialist Pharmacist (Medicines Governance), SPS 

Useful links:  
SPS article on assessing liver function and interpreting liver blood tests 
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/assessing-liver-function-and-interpreting-liver-blood-tests/
NHS website information on prednisolone  
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/prednisolone/
NHS website information on budesonide  
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/budesonide-tablets-capsules-and-granules/about-budesonide-tablets-capsules-and-granules/
NHS website information on azathioprine  
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/azathioprine/
The Society of Endocrinology information on adrenal crisis 
https://www.endocrinology.org/clinical-practice/clinical-guidance/adrenal-crisis/
SPS Medicines Monitoring tool 
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/home/tools/drug-monitoring/
The Green Book: information on vaccines for vaccine preventable diseases 
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book#the-green-book
AIH support website  
https://aihsupport.org.uk/
The British Liver Trust’s information on autoimmune hepatitis 
https://britishlivertrust.org.uk/information-and-support/liver-conditions/autoimmune-hepatitis/

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH)

Sheetal Ladva, Senior Medicines Advice Pharmacist at SPS, presents a summary of the resources published by SPS between 21st and 27th June.  To easily find a list of newly published pages go to sps.nhs.uk, select ‘search’, click in the search bar, and press enter.    

Quick links to highlighted resources:      
Safe handling of monoclonal antibodies 
Considerations for occupational safety when preparing monoclonal antibodies (mAb) 
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/safe-handling-of-monoclonal-antibodies/ 

Tranexamic acid injection for treatment of severe haemorrhage 
SPS PGD template for administering tranexamic acid injection for treatment of severe haemorrhage by registered Paramedics and Nurses 
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/tranexamic-acid-injection-for-treatment-of-severe-haemorrhage/  

June edition of Spotlight  
A digest of NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service support for professionals working in all areas of the healthcare system for June 2025  
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/spotlight-june-2025/  

Next events – forthcoming webinars and conferences      
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/home/events/next-events/        

Podcast description:    
NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service serves healthcare professionals across the NHS who are involved in all aspects of buying, making and using medicines. Our motto is 'do once and share'.   

1 July: Monoclonal antibodies, tranexamic acid PGD, SPS going to QATS symposium

NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service serves healthcare professionals across the NHS who are involved in all aspects of buying, making and using medicines.  Our motto is 'do once and share'.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH)

NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service

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