Launch of Prescribing Awareness Week initiative

There is much healthcare professionals could do to help patients get the best outcomes from medicines. Some of the challenges include, for example, insufficient information about medicines and preventable hospital admissions caused by the adverse effect of medicines.

Our GP practice in West Yorkshire sought to address some of these issues when we were launching our inaugural ‘Prescribing Awareness Week’ (23–27 November 2015).

Sunnybank Medical Centre in Bradford, west Yorkshire, created ‘Prescribing Awareness Week’ with two aims: to raise the profile of workstreams around prescribing in the practice with all colleagues; and to provide education for patients on the prescribing workstreams.

The workstreams include the pharmacy minor ailment scheme, electronic prescription service, antibiotic stewardship, medicines waste and cost-effective prescribing.

Different workstreams will be promoted by colleagues using different methods throughout the week, such as using display boards and electronic screens in the reception, through social media and via patient information leaflets. There will also be education sessions for colleagues (e.g. about antibiotic stewardship).

We hope an initiative such as this will enable the team to work in an integrated manner involving all stakeholders, including the wider multidisciplinary practice team and community pharmacies, to benefit patients and the public and improve medicines optimisation.

Raman Sharma

Practice Pharmacist

Sunnybank Medical Centre

Bradford