| Title: |
Critical care pharmacy workforce: a 2020 re-evaluation of the UK deployment and characteristics |
| Authors: |
Mark Borthwick; Greg Barton; Christopher P. Ioannides; Ruth Forrest; Emma Graham-Clarke; Fraser Hanks; Christie James; David Kean; David Sapsford; Alan Timmins; Mark Tomlin; John Warburton; Richard S. Bourne |
| Source: |
Human Resources for Health, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2023) |
| Publisher Information: |
BMC, 2023. |
| Publication Year: |
2023 |
| Collection: |
LCC:Medicine (General); LCC:Public aspects of medicine |
| Subject Terms: |
Pharmacy; Hospital; Intensive care; Organisation; Planning; Census; Medicine (General); R5-920; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270 |
| Description: |
Abstract Introduction Critical care pharmacists improve the quality and efficiency of medication therapy whilst reducing treatment costs where they are available. UK critical care pharmacist deployment was described in 2015, highlighting a deficit in numbers, experience level, and critical care access to pharmacy services over the 7-day week. Since then, national workforce standards have been emphasised, quality indicators published, and service commissioning documents produced, reinforced by care quality assessments. Whether these initiatives have resulted in further development of the UK critical care pharmacy workforce is unknown. This evaluation provides a 2020 status update. Methods The 2015 electronic data entry tool was updated and circulated for completion by UK critical care pharmacists. The tool captured workforce data disposition as it was just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, at critical care unit level. Main findings Data were received for 334 critical care units from 203 organisations (96% of UK critical care units). Overall, 98.2% of UK critical care units had specific clinical pharmacist time dedicated to the unit. The median weekday pharmacist input to each level 3 equivalent bed was 0.066 (0.043–0.088) whole time equivalents, a significant increase from the median position in 2015 (+ 0.021, p |
| Document Type: |
article |
| File Description: |
electronic resource |
| Language: |
English |
| ISSN: |
1478-4491 |
| Relation: |
https://doaj.org/toc/1478-4491 |
| DOI: |
10.1186/s12960-023-00810-y |
| Access URL: |
https://doaj.org/article/b4cda587eb044e08975877a67fa9b0b2 |
| Accession Number: |
edsdoj.b4cda587eb044e08975877a67fa9b0b2 |
| Database: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |