Supporting the NHS – a Q&A with couple who both work for the NHS

Last month we celebrated 75 years of the NHS. This prompted us to take look closer at our amazing National Health Service. We caught up with a Jim (a GP) and Marie (an intensive care nurse) who have both worked for the NHS for over thirty years.

What has your experience been working with the NHS?

Jim: I am very proud to have worked for the NHS for 36 years and it is a privilege to work for such an amazing organisation. The NHS has evolved and changed over the years to accommodate the changing demographics and needs of its population. It has been incredibly hard work but enormously rewarding.

Marie: I’ve worked for the NHS for 40 years and my experience has generally been very good. Whilst the work has been difficult both mentally and physically, particularly in the last few years, it is incredibly rewarding. Working alongside amazing colleagues helps you through the tougher moments.

Coming out of the pandemic, how has your work evolved?

Jim: We have embraced new technology, supported our patients and each other and tried to develop strategies to cope with a staggering increase in demand.

Marie: More of the day-to-day has moved online, it is much busier, there are less staff and higher expectations. It must be said that the pandemic has drastically changed the way that we work, and the way that the public see us. That said, I feel immensely proud to have been able to work in intensive care during the pandemic. It was extremely difficult, but the work that every member of staff did during that time was incredible.

Do you have a message for the NHS as it celebrates its 75th year?

Jim: Keep working hard to care for your patients, embrace change, support your colleagues and staff. Know that you are doing a great job and are much appreciated.

Marie: The NHS is a wonderful institution that I’ve been proud to work for my whole career. My message to all NHS workers is to keep doing what you’re doing – the hardest moments will be worth it; you are making a difference every day.

Supporting the NHS – a Q&A with Victoria Hoy, Pharmacy Procurement and IT Manager, Royal Surrey Foundation Trust

Earlier this month we celebrated 75 years of the NHS. This prompted us to take look closer at how we support our amazing National Health Service. We caught up with one of the pharmacists we work with on a daily basis and asked about her experiences of working with the NHS and the working relationship with Alliance Healthcare.

Do you enjoy working for the NHS?

The NHS have had a lot of ups and downs over the years, in particular the challenges we faced with Covid. Caring for our patients is obviously our main priority, so when we do face difficult times, we are like a family who support and help each other through, which is a wonderful thing to be a part of.

How would you describe working with Alliance Healthcare?

Alliance Healthcare are a huge part of our patient care, particularly in the pharmacy world. Knowing that we have a reliable source to provide of a huge range of medications means we can ensure there are no hold ups to care and can continue to look after our patients.  In my experience, the service you provide has always been extremely dependable so when we are rushed off our feet, we know the experience we receive from you will be stress free.

Coming out of the pandemic, how has your work evolved?

We had to become a lot more reactive as our patients and staff got used to us being able to source products quickly and efficiently during that time. This expectation has continued as we move out of the pandemic, so we have learned to adapt our work processes and order medications as soon as we are asked to.

How did you celebrate 75 years of the NHS?

Our Trust brought in ice cream vans and staff were all able to get free ice cream for the day. There were also various events going on within the Trust which allowed staff and patients to celebrate together.

Do you have a Birthday message for them?

Happy Birthday NHS, you have looked after so many people over the years, including many of my family and friends. You provide access to care for all, and I hope you continue to do so for many years to come. Through the bad times and good, I am proud to be an NHS employee.

Alliance Healthcare Team Members Complete 6-hour Trek in Aid of Alzheimer’s Society Dressed as ‘Glamorous Grannies’

Alliance Healthcare UK team members Nick Atkins, Swansea Service Centre Manager, and Karl Goodall, Swansea Driver Team Manager, successfully climbed Pen y Fan in South Wales in aid of Alzheimer’s Society.

Pen y Fan, situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park, is the highest British peak south of the Cadair Idris in Snowdonia standing at 886 metres above sea level.

Nick and Karl embarked on the trek dressed as ‘glamorous grannies’ - donning wigs, tights, and dresses to climb the famous peak and raise money for those with dementia. Dementia is a disease which most commonly affects those aged 65 and over and 65% of the 944,000 people living with dementia in the UK are women*. The pair completed the mountain trek in six hours, carrying an Alliance Healthcare medicines cool box weighing over 35 kg. They have so far raised over £1,500 for Alzheimer’s Society, a cause close to Nick Atkins’s heart.

Alzheimer’s Society is a national care and research charity for people with dementia and their carers. The charity comprises trusted experts, campaigners, researchers, and clinicians who are attempting to tackle the biggest challenges facing people living with dementia. Alzheimer’s Society Cymru is the only UK dementia charity to fund both biomedical and care research.

Alzheimer’s Society Cymru, said:

“Alzheimer’s Society Cymru is delighted that Nick and Karl from Alliance Healthcare scaled Pen Y Fan as ‘glamourous grannies’ to raise funds and awareness, particularly when Nick is directly affected by dementia. With over 50,000 people living with dementia in Wales and 900,000 across the UK, there has never been more important time to support our work.

“Alzheimer’s Society Cymru relies on the generosity of its supporters, like Nick and Karl and Alliance Healthcare, to help us continue our vital work, providing help and hope for people affected by dementia. We cannot thank Nick and Karl enough for their amazing efforts to support Alzheimer’s Society Cymru.”

Nick Atkins, Swansea Service Centre Manager, said:

“We decided to dress up as glamorous elderly ladies to bring attention to the demographic that are most affected by the disease. Raising money for Alzheimer’s Society is very close to my heart as my mother is currently in the later stages of this horrible disease. It’s great that every penny raised through this event will go to such a worthy cause.”

Karl Goodall, Swansea Driver Team Manager, said:

“After doing many charity events previously I now needed a different challenge. When Nick and I spontaneously came up with this unique idea I knew it would be a sure way to raise money and awareness for such a great cause!”

You can still donate to their cause by visiting the following link: Fundraiser by Nicholas Atkins : The Betty & Edna Mountain Climb (gofundme.com)

If you need help, visit alzheimers.org.uk or call 0333 150 3456 to speak to one of Alzheimer’s Society Cymru’s expert dementia Advisers.

Supporting the NHS – a Q&A with Kara Richards, Alcura nurse

Earlier this month we celebrated 75 years of the NHS. This prompted us to take a closer look at how we support our amazing National Health Service. In the first of a series of three interviews with Alliance Healthcare team members – we caught up with Kara Richards one of our Alcura nurses.

Alcura supports the NHS with both straightforward and complex patient needs through a comprehensive end-to-end service, to enable patients to receive care out of the hospital environment. 

Kara is the Operations Manager for the field team and manages the Alcura nursing team on a day-to-day basis. The team consists of 45 registered nurses who provide service to patients from NHS trusts across the whole of the UK.

As a registered nurse herself, Kara did her training at a hospital in Milton Keynes and has worked in various areas across the NHS covering all aspects of nursing in hospitals, the community, as well as the private sector supporting the NHS. She has always supported NHS patients and worked with the organisation to manage their care of patients by providing additional support and resources. 

When asked how she would sum up her experience of working with the NHS, Kara said:

“I started my career in the NHS and its where my true passion for nursing started. I think it's a fantastic organisation and I am very proud to have worked with them and of the support that we (Alcura) are able to offer them. Any help that we're able to give to support and work collaboratively within the NHS is just a positive thing. It would also be great to grow and innovate what we can offer to the NHS, the work that we do is very beneficial to our communities.”

Do you have one person you link to at the NHS or are you all inter linked?

“We deal directly with them and the clinical teams will have a contact escalation matrix if there are any issues they need to raise. I speak to the clinical nurse teams, the clinical home care pharmacists, consultants, and clinicians. We have review meetings for some of our services on a regular basis just to ensure that the service we're providing is suitable. We also work closely with our hospital account managers and the commercial and manufacturing account managers - communication between the two teams is important and done well.”

What was your experience of working and supporting the NHS during the pandemic?

“I worked in the field team as the pandemic started and we managed to continue all the services we provided pre-COVID without any disruption. The patients we cared for were very vulnerable, immunosuppressed and couldn’t go into clinics as they would do normally, so we played a vital role at that stage. Alcura nurses provided a continuous feedback link with the Trust, writing up detailed reviews of their patients, letting the NHS know if there were any clinical issues that needed escalating or raising. 

It wasn’t just about the physical giving of the medication but also the holistic, safeguarding, and mental health care too. It was a really difficult time for those in hospital as they were facing COVID head on, so we were able to really support those patients that were vulnerable in the community that may have not been monitored as closely. The support we got from the NHS and from the PPE suppliers meant that our nurses could continue working. I was told there was no delay in any treatment during that whole time frame. We just continued to follow NHS England guidelines and worked with the NCHA to ensure that our nurses stayed safe.”

How did you celebrate the milestone Birthday at Alliance Healthcare?

“We had tea and cake stations around the building as we joined in with the NHS Big Tea to celebrate. We also raised money for NHS charities and team members joined in with ‘wear it blue’ day.”
 

Happy 75th Birthday to the NHS!

Wednesday 5 July marked 75 years of our amazing National Health Service (NHS).

Marie Evans, Managing Director, Alliance Healthcare UK said: 

“Today marks 75 years of our fantastic NHS, and we would like to take a moment to thank all the healthcare professionals who work tirelessly each day to keep our vital service running. This significant anniversary presents an opportunity for us all to stop and consider just how lucky we are that the National Health Service gives us comprehensive access to healthcare, free at the point of delivery, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

“We’re so proud that we work alongside them, supplying one in every three medicines taken by NHS patients and serving over 17,000 pharmacies, doctors, hospitals and health centres across the UK. At Alliance Healthcare UK we’re marking the occasion with lots of activity across our sites including local tea parties and encouraging our team members to wear blue on the day itself.”

At Alliance Healthcare UK team members across our sites got together to celebrate by wearing blue and taking part in activities such as bake sales and tea parties.

Stock update from Novo Nordisk – 14 June 2023

Stock update from Novo Nordisk on: Rybelsus®, Ozempic®, Saxenda®, and Victoza®

Please click here for full information.

LATEST: Ozempic®▼ (semaglutide) for adults living with type 2 diabetes in the UK

Message from Novo Nordisk UK, correct as of 14 June 2023.

Novo Nordisk UK is aware of intermittent stock shortages of Ozempic® ▼(semaglutide)  in the UK. Unprecedented levels of demand for this medicine have tested our manufacturing capacity.  Whilst we continue to increase our capacity significantly, our present supply does not always meet this excess demand, which has led to intermittent supply which is expected to last into 2024.

The shortage is not because of any safety or quality related concern with Ozempic.

During this shortage period, as per DHSC (Department of Health & Social Care) recommendation, no new patients should be initiated on Ozempic so that available stock can be used for existing patients.

We understand the uncertainty and concern this shortage may cause people living with diabetes. This is not something we are taking lightly, and we are working hard to solve these challenges.

Alliance Healthcare UK Supports Medicines to Ukraine Campaign

The Medicines to Ukraine pharmacy appeal is led by The Healthcare Distribution Association (HDA), Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA), and National Pharmacy Association (NPA) in the UK, who are urging pharmacy teams to promote the campaign to customers and members of the public to raise funds.

Alliance Healthcare UK has supported the Medicine to Ukraine campaign through its distribution network; via a coordinated, country-wide poster drop to UK pharmacy stores.

Over 15,000 Medicines to Ukraine posters have been delivered to pharmacies across the UK. The posters are already in pharmacy windows across Europe raising awareness of the campaign.

The Medicines to Ukraine campaign is part of a pan-European effort established by Employed Pharmacists in Europe (EPhEU). The campaign procures and sends specialist hospital medicines that are running low or that are no longer available in Ukraine directly to Ukrainian hospitals that are treating the casualties of the war.

Roughly £220,000 has been raised via the appeal in the UK alone and a total of £3 million has been raised across Europe to date.

Martin Sawer, Executive Director of HDA commented: “Our member companies’ distribution networks ensure a comprehensive, resilient and efficient supply system is always there for community pharmacies, hospitals and dispensing doctors. The Association is delighted that an HDA distributor is making use of its own intensive national network to enable this vital campaign.”

Matt Addison, Operations Director at Alliance Healthcare, said: “Each of the 16,500 pharmacies that we supply each day will play an important role in raising awareness of the Medicines to Ukraine campaign. Alliance Healthcare is fortunate to have an operation ready to help our pharmacy customers activate this important appeal and play its part to help those impacted by the war in Ukraine.”

Alliance Healthcare has previously supported on several similar leaflets drops in support of pharmacy, campaigns including the NHS "Stay Well This Winter" campaign.

Alliance Healthcare UK Launches Advisory Board

Alliance Healthcare UK is a leading wholesaler of medicines and healthcare products and serves over 17,000 healthcare providers including community pharmacies, GPs, hospitals, and health centres.

The Advisory Board consists of senior experts from the healthcare sector and provides an invaluable source of advice, ensuring Alliance Healthcare UK’s strategic programme is aligned to NHS priorities and delivers real value to UK patients. 

The Advisory Board is chaired by Alliance Healthcare UK’s Non-Executive Adviser, Chris Martin and has four members: Lord O’Shaughnessy, former Department of Health Minister and Director of the No.10 policy unit; Jeannette Howe, former head of Pharmacy at the Department for Health and Social Care; Claire Ward, Chair of Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and former MP for Watford (1997 – 2010) who served as PPS for the Department for Health (2001-2005) and Justice Minister; Fin McCaul, Managing Director of Prestwich Pharmacy and Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

The Advisory Board has met twice this year at Alliance Healthcare UK’s headquarters in Chessington and will meet quarterly in 2023.

Marie Evans, Managing Director of Alliance Healthcare UK, said: “The Advisory Board is an invaluable resource, bringing great knowledge and experience to challenge Alliance Healthcare UK’s strategy as we continue to support community pharmacy and ensure that our service development priorities align to those of the NHS and improve the lives of patients.”

Find out more about our board members by clicking here.

Almus product wins Pharmacy Product of the Year 2023

Alliance Healthcare are proud and delighted to share that our own brand product, Almus Erectile Dysfunction Relief 50mg Film Coated Tablets, won Pharmacy Product of the Year 2023 (Sexual Health category) as voted by independent pharmacists in the UK. 

Run by the Independent Community Pharmacist magazine (part of the Communications International Group), the Pharmacy Product of the Year Awards celebrates their 13th year of recognising exceptional brands and their commitment to independent pharmacies as they strive to improve the service they offer to their patients. Independent pharmacists and, for the first time, consumers, have voted on the most popular and best-selling over the counter products in a range of categories in independent pharmacies across the country.

Tara Dew, Own Brand Manager says: “This is fantastic news for our own brand Almus OTC, and just shows how much we’ve grown as a brand over the last few years. This success follows on from last year’s MVP Awards, which the product was shortlisted for Most Valued Product of the Year 2022, together with Almus Ibuprofen and Codeine 200mg/12.8mg Tablets (32s) and Almus Cold Sore 1% w/w Cream”.

Click here to view the March issue of ICP magazine.

You can also view the full Pharmacy Product of the Year Winners feature here.