Review of 2024: Pharmacy Services Shine Brighter Than Ever!

 20th January 2025

Written by Natasha Patel (QI Coach and Lead Pharmacist for Luton & Bedfordshire) and Carlos Santos (Improvement Advisor)

What a year it’s been for the Pharmacy Team in Luton and Bedford! As we wrap up 2024, it’s incredible to reflect on the journey we’ve taken to tackle a longstanding challenge: making the invaluable contributions of our Pharmacy Team more visible to patients, staff, and the organisation at large. 

We started the year with some big questions: 

• How can we ensure pharmacy staff are seen as a vital part of patient care? 

• What’s stopping us from engaging more directly with patients and ward staff? 

• And most importantly, how can we use our talents to make the biggest difference? 

With these questions in mind, we rolled up our sleeves, leaned into innovation, and took bold steps to transform the ways we work. 

The Challenge: Visibility Amidst Complexity 

Pharmacy is at the heart of patient care, but visibility hasn’t always reflected that. Staffing shortages, inconsistent documentation, and the whirlwind of ward activity often meant that the incredible contributions of our pharmacy staff (pharmacists and technicians) went unnoticed. Wards weren’t fully aware of the depth of pharmacy input, and opportunities for direct patient engagement sometimes slipped through the cracks. 

Figure 1: Fishbone Diagram – Pharmacy Visibility challenges

What We Did in 2024 

Figure 2: Driver Diagram for 2025 – Increasing Pharmacy direct contact with patients and staff. 

1. Hybrid Working to the Rescue
   We embraced virtual consultations and remote working models, ensuring continuity of service while adapting to new ways of working. This wasn’t without its hiccups—older adults and patients on Forensic Wards or Psychiatric Intensive Care Units presented unique challenges—but it also brought unexpected wins, like stronger rapport with some teams such as Cedar House, Onyx, Coral and Poplars wards.
2. Ward Rounds: Prioritise What Matters Most
   Instead of trying to be everywhere all the time, we shifted focus to prioritise ward rounds. Pharmacy staff attended where they were most needed, ensuring their expertise had maximum impact. It wasn’t just about showing up—it was about showing up where it counts most.
3. Quantifying our Impact 

Figure 3: Measurement Plan – Improving Pharmacy Visibility 

One of the biggest hurdles have been demonstrating the impact of what we do. This year, we began working towards standardised documentation. We are working towards every ward round, consultation, and patient interaction to be recorded and celebrated. From introducing codes in our systems to exploring automated tools, we are trying to lay the groundwork for making pharmacy contributions more visible than ever. 

2025: Building on Success 

The journey doesn’t stop here. In fact, 2024 has been just the start of some deeper reflections. Here’s what’s next for 2025: 

Learning from the Problem 

We’re taking a step back to reflect on what we’ve learned about the barriers to visibility. By conducting a reflective Ishikawa analysis and building a Fishbone Diagram (Fig.1), we’re getting clearer on the root causes—and finding new opportunities for improvement. 

Emerging Drivers

Through our work this year, we’ve identified key drivers of change. We’re now structuring these as a Driver Diagram (fig. 2) to map out what’s driving our progress and what needs to happen next. 

Making It Measurable
Finally, it’s time to make our results count! To track progress and ensure the visibility of our contributions, we are establishing a robust measurement plan (Fig. 3), to show where we are now and what’s possible in the future. This will help us not just measure progress but also celebrate our wins and set bold targets for 2025. 

A THANK YOU to the Team 

None of this would’ve been possible without the incredible Pharmacy Team and our partners across wards and departments. This year, you’ve shown what’s possible when we embrace change, focus on our strengths, and work together. 

Here’s to building on this momentum in 2025 — because when pharmacy shines, everyone benefits!