Having previously set her sights on being a pharmacist, Hazel MacPherson found her natural calling was as an accuracy checking technician

Hazel MacPherson began her career in pharmacy aged just 15 when she took a Saturday job at a pharmacy in Edinburgh. This humble beginning inspired her to train as a pharmacist at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.

“My pharmacist was very enthusiastic about me getting into the profession and not just stacking shelves or viewing it as a Saturday job,” Hazel explains. She studied for two years, but didn’t enjoy the clinical aspect of the degree and decided that being a pharmacist wasn’t for her. However, eager to stay in pharmacy, Hazel started working as a pharmacy technician nearly 10 years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

“It’s something I was always meant to do,” she explains. “The pharmacist is there to do the clinical checks, but there’s so much teamwork that I feel involved in everything.” Hazel has now been a part of the team at Barnton Pharmacy in northwest Edinburgh for the past five years.

Hazel has a passion for pharmacy and improving patients' lives

 

Dementia friendly

Barnton Pharmacy serves a diverse community that includes both a recent influx of young families and an elderly population, with sheltered accommodation situated several hundred yards down the road. Following discussions with local GPs and the community council, it became clear that there was a lack of services for elderly patients with dementia.

As a result, Barnton Pharmacy became a ‘dementia friendly’ practice in 2011. “We started to notice the same patients coming in very confused and realised there was a void in terms of them receiving help,” explains Hazel. “We have a high elderly population in this area and doctors aren’t always able to notice problems in short consultations. We are able to help socially as well as medically.”

Every member of the team has completed online training to become a dementia friend and offers support not only to patients, but also to their carers and loved ones. “We offer respite, we notice changes in behaviour, we help make doctors more aware – we keep our eye out,” Hazel adds.

The pharmacy compiled a ‘dementia friendly checklist’ to help staff detect if a customer may be suffering symptoms of dementia but is undiagnosed. “A first trigger is a patient appearing more confused or slightly aggressive,” explains Hazel. “We then normally ask their permission to speak to their doctor or family about our concerns.” This was put into practice when an elderly lady who cared for her husband began coming in to the pharmacy every 30 minutes to collect his medication.

“Initially, we just thought she was busy and forgetful, but she was coming in more frequently,” says Hazel. After the customer’s daughter came in sharing their concerns, Hazel spoke to local shops who had also noticed the problem. The issue was flagged up to the customer’s GP and she was later diagnosed with dementia. “She’s much more relaxed now and able to live her day-to-day life,” adds Hazel.

The pharmacy displays clear signage letting customers know it is a dementia friendly practice, and issues leaflets and cards that patients can show to bus drivers or shop assistants to let them know of their condition. All patients with dementia are registered for the chronic medication service and have active pharmaceutical care records. The pharmacy has also received training from Alzheimer Scotland and works with the charity to raise awareness of the condition and the services available via local dementia cafés and workshops.

“We’re not able to stop their dementia, but we can help to assess and deliver medication that will make their condition less aggressive”, says Hazel. The team’s dedication even won external recognition at this year’s SMART Awards, hosted by Pharmacy Magazine, when they took home the coveted Best Independent Community Pharmacy Healthcare Innovation award, supported by the National Pharmacy Association.

Daily life

Aside from being a dementia friendly practice, Barnton Pharmacy also offers numerous other services, including a travel clinic; DNA, alcohol and drug testing; healthy heart, blood pressure and diabetes checks; smoking cessation; sexual health advice; flu vaccinations, and fortnightly free hearing checks. They even offer a bespoke travel service for school groups.

“Usually, a parent will ring up saying their child is going on a school trip abroad. We then ring the school and offer to come in with advice and support to help them stay safe while travelling,” explains Hazel. And of course, there is still the day-to-day running of the pharmacy to keep up with.

“We open at 9am, but I get in early so I can look to the day ahead and know where we are with staff levels,” explains Hazel. She then checks the deliveries for items that need to be dispensed plus the prescriptions that have arrived from the GP surgery, before ordering any items they don’t have in stock.

“We have around three orders from wholesalers a day, so if a customer comes into the pharmacy in the morning requesting a medicine, we can often get it to them by the afternoon,” she says. The remainder of Hazel’s day is spent organising dosette boxes, carrying out assessments and putting everything in place for the following morning.

We are able to help socially as well as medically

Looking to the future

Hazel has experienced huge changes within her near decade as a pharmacy technician, and credits ongoing training for her ability to adapt. “Training is constant, both from a retail and a pharmaceutical angle,” she explains. “Training keeps you focused and stops you going stale. It enables you to have better relationships with customers and to know how to approach issues”.

In the future, Hazel is considering attending seminars at the local college led by pharmacists. “There’s a new course for ACTs that’s more clinical and in-depth so that you’re not replicating the role of the pharmacist,” she explains. “I’d also like to get more involved in hospital pharmacy.”

For the time being, however, Hazel is content with her current role and works hard to balance her daily responsibilities. Despite her great responsibilities and demanding workload, Hazel insists pharmacy is the only profession for her: “I like being part of a patient’s life and helping to make their life better without taking over. I want to help in any way that I can and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”