UHDB pharmacy team shortlisted for national award for preventing hundreds of hospital readmissions

Thanks to the team's enhanced communications with community pharmacy teams, up to 760 hospital readmissions were prevented at UHDB since January 2023

Pharmacists at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) are receiving national recognition for their outstanding efforts in improving patient safety beyond the hospital setting and reducing hospital readmissions.

The UHDB’s Medicines Optimisation team has been shortlisted for the prestigious Improving Medicines Safety Award at the upcoming HSJ Patient Safety Awards, which honours hard-working teams and individuals across the UK who are continually striving to deliver improved patient care.

In collaboration with digital services at the Trust and regional pharmacies, the team has developed an interface to improve communication with community pharmacies.

This system ensures that patients discharged from the hospital continue to receive the right medications they need, with safety reviews, after they leave the hospital's care.

This interface works alongside a national programme, called the Discharge Medicines Service (DMS), designed to enhance communication between hospitals and community pharmacies.

By ensuring that any changes to a patient's medication are accurately updated across the healthcare system, this system reduces the risk of patients encountering avoidable harm due to incorrect medications, allowing them to continue to recover well after discharge.

It is estimated that up to 760 hospital readmissions were prevented at UHDB since January 2023 following this initiative, which ensures patients have access to the correct medicines in the community.

Paul Thornley, Medicines Optimisation Project Lead at UHDB, expressed his pride at the team's hard work over many years to improving their service and enhancing patient safety:

"I'm incredibly proud of everyone's commitment and the impact this has had across our communities. The whole team got a real buzz when it was announced that we'd been shortlisted, and it's amazing to see everyone's work being highlighted on a national stage.

"We have always been keen to improve our service and communications between hospital and community pharmacy teams, so we are proud to have been shortlisted for our part in keeping our patients safe even after they leave our care."

Thanks to this interface, clinical pharmacy colleagues can now refer adult inpatients to their chosen community pharmacy upon discharge, ensuring that their medication is reviewed and updated across all their records.

Additionally, information about medication changes are effectively and clearly communicated with pharmacies in the community to avoid any potential risks.

This automated process helps patients continue receiving the correct medication, promoting recovery and reducing the risk of their condition worsening, which could otherwise lead to further hospital stays.

Paul explained: "We know that, nationally, around 80 per cent of patients are prescribed a new medication during a hospital admission, so improving the communication between pharmacies across the region is absolutely vital to ensure we're giving our patients the right care and the best chances of making a quicker recovery."

The team is now focussing on patients prescribed strong medications, such as opioids, during their hospital stay, to ensure they don’t continue taking them longer than needed after discharge, reducing the risk of developing a dependency or other associated complications.

Paul noted that while implementing this across two Electronic Prescribing and Medication Administration (ePMA) systems has been a huge challenge, the benefits are becoming clear.

UHDB is now among the top 25 per cent of trusts in the country using the service in this manner, with around 10 per cent of all adult inpatients being referred through this process.

The team aims to increase the number of patients who have their medication managed in this way.

"We are continuing to work closely with our community pharmacy colleagues, who have been incredibly helpful on this journey, and are aiming to increase our referral rates significantly to help further enhance patient safety, reduce preventable hospital admissions, and save valuable NHS resources,” Paul said.

The HSJ Patient Safety Awards ceremony, scheduled for 16 September, will also see two more UHDB teams in contention for the Urgent and Emergency Care Safety Initiative of the Year Award.

The Medical Same Day Urgent Care team has been shortlisted for their work in preventing hospital admissions for patients visiting the emergency department at Royal Derby Hospital.

Additionally, a pharmacy team based in the emergency department is shortlisted for reviewing medications for frailty patients, helping to prevent readmissions.