Rochdale Pharmacist Wins National Award for Work with Older People

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Local pharmacist, Michael Johnson has received national recognition for his work with frail and very elderly people using the Rochdale Council - NHS Trust run Intermediate Care Service based at Tudor Court, Heywood.

Michael, who works at Internet Pharmacy in Heywood, was a runner up in this year's Pharmaceutical Care Awards held in London on 28 June by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Over the last eighteen months, he has been funded by Rochdale Council's Adult Care Service and the Heywood & Middleton Primary Care Trust to provide a borough-wide pharmacy service working alongside the care teams at Tudor Court.

Michael said, "I was very pleased to get through to the finals and get a runners up award. It was recognition for the hard work the teams have put in. It shows what a big contribution the new pharmacy service has made to the recovery of older people using Tudor Court and the benefits of working closely with other care professionals."

For example, many older people end up in hospital and need intermediate care because of a fall. Occasionally, the side effects of the medication older people have to take, like anti-depressants and strong pain killers, can be an important factor. As a lot of intermediate care is provided by therapists trained to look for a physical cause for the fall, it is not always easy for them to find the real cause."

In a survey carried out between April 2003 and January 2004, the pharmacy service reviewed the medication of over 254 people using the Intermediate Care Service and was able to help over a third of them with improved medication regimes.

Tracy Ogden, Intermediate Care Sister, who works alongside Michael at Tudor Court said, "Michael is great to work with. After working here for over a year now, he is one of us, part of the team. His insight is invaluable during medication reviews and he has increased our awareness of what we need to be looking for. It means we are less likely to see people coming back to us because they have had another fall."

As a runner up, Michael won a £500 cash prize and a framed certificate.