KNYSNA NEWS - Life Knysna Private Hospital celebrates National Pharmacy Week, September 5 to 11, and encourages the safe use of medicines.
“Medicines play an important role in preventing and treating illnesses. However, if not used properly, medicines can cause harm and that’s why it’s important that both patients and healthcare professionals take responsibility for using medication safely,” says pharmacy manager Pieter Reynecke.
• Firstly, understand why you are taking the medicine.
• You should know how and when to take it.
• Advise your pharmacist about any allergy and any other medicine you are taking.
• You should always ask your pharmacist if you are unsure about anything regarding your medicine.
• Also be sure to ask for information about common side effects to expect when taking the medicine.
• Never share your medication.
• Safety information with regard to storage, and then disposal of unused or expired medication is also important. Ask your pharmacist.
“Use medicine safely” is the SA Pharmacy Council’s theme for this year’s Pharmacy Week, and one that Life Healthcare fully supports. Aligned to the theme is a "traffic robot" poster campaign, which highlights the three traffic robot colours to signal different aspects of ensuring medication is used safely.
Red, entitled "STOP, ask yourself" urges the patient to ensure they understand why they are taking their medicine; orange, entitled "ASK your pharmacist" recommends the patient ask the pharmacist for safety information regarding administering and storing their medicine; and green, entitled "GO, and get well" offers advice to the patient on the safe use and disposal of their medicine.
Pharmacists have always played a pivotal role in the procurement, supply and management of medication in our hospitals, leading cost containment of pharmaceuticals and supporting sustainable healthcare. Their contribution is critical in ensuring safe medication use, significantly contributing to the provision of quality patient care and optimal outcomes.
Hospital pharmacy has also evolved over the past decade in South Africa, from mainly being dispensary based, to where pharmacy services are becoming available at ward level and at the patient’s bedside. This has created a platform for pharmacists to directly provide their knowledge and expertise on medication, and participate in the multidisciplinary healthcare teams caring for patients.
“As pharmacists we have a professional responsibility to ensure the safe and effective use of medicine, and an important role as a key source of medicine information both to patients and to other members of the healthcare team” says Pragna Patel a Life Healthcare pharmacy manager. This is echoed by Chido Chauke, a pharmacy manager with a personal passion for clinical pharmacy, who adds that “the clinical care responsibilities of pharmacists are expanding, creating further opportunities for hospital pharmacists to use their knowledge and skills to promote optimal efficacy, safety and stewardship in the use of medicines”.
The role of pharmacists in ensuring medication safety is in the best interest of our patients at Life Healthcare hospitals and aligns so well with the Pharmacy Week theme, which encourages the safe use of medicines, because our focus is on the patient’s care and wellbeing,” concludes Reynecke.
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