Case Study: West Midlands pharmacy care home network

What is the West Midlands Pharmacy Care Home Network?

Following an engagement event in 2019 with care home Pharmacists and Technicians from across the West Midlands, a need was identified to improve the quality of medicine administration in care homes and share best practice.

Hosted in collaboration with Coventry & Warwickshire North CCGs, the network meetings responded to NHS requests to support primary and community pharmacy needs in care homes through COVID-19, focusing on medicine supply and reuse, medication reviews and hospital discharge reviews.

What were the aims of the West Midlands Pharmacy Care Home Network?

To aid communication and share best practice across the West Midlands Region for Pharmacists and Technicians working in care homes (Nursing and Residential).

To support pharmacy teams by providing information on national policy and local implementation, practical advice and a safe space to ask questions.

What did we do and how did we do it?

Due to COVID-19, six virtual meetings were held in 2020, featuring national and regional speakers as well as local teams showcasing their work. Meetings were well attended with an average of 50 participants at each meeting. Sessions were recorded and resources circulated afterwards along with relevant information in-between sessions.

What were the outcomes?

• The WM Pharmacy Care Home Network has built a distribution list of over 200 people, representing teams from across the region.
• A survey was conducted in July 2020 for those that attended at least one network meeting, 71.4% of whom felt the Network was useful and 82.1% felt the webinars were applicable to their role.
• The Network has allowed teams to work together, share best practice and standardise policies and procedures in care homes across the region.
• In the long-term, Network meetings will be held face-to-face to encourage participants to build relationships and feel comfortable communicating outside the meetings. We also intend to set up a mentoring programme, enabling experienced teams to support newer pharmacy staff.