Meet the pharmacists behind Birmingham's hospitals

University Hospitals Birmingham has marked World Pharmacists Day by celebrating the work of its hospital pharmacy teams, who check prescriptions, advise doctors and patients, and manage the medicines used across its hospitals every day.

World Pharmacists Day is held on 25 September each year to recognise the part pharmacists play in keeping people safe and well.

More than dispensing

Hospital pharmacists work on wards and in clinics, reviewing patients' medicines, spotting harmful interactions and making sure people go home with the right treatment. The trust highlighted its award-winning Alfa programme for managing controlled drugs, which are medicines such as strong painkillers that need extra checks.

A career in pharmacy

The trust shared the story of Gurjit Sohal, Pharmacy Clinical Service Lead for the Queen Elizabeth and Solihull hospitals. She trained at the School of Pharmacy in London, completed her pre-registration year in Nottingham and worked in rotational roles at the Royal Derby Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth.

She has since gained qualifications in non-medical prescribing and advanced clinical assessment, and an MBA in healthcare from Aston Business School. Her role includes overseeing the medicines budget, the costs of treatments approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the hospital formulary, which is the list of medicines doctors can prescribe, and inpatient pharmacy teams.

She has also co-authored research on the use of medicines in the NHS field hospitals set up during Covid, and led a campaign for European Antibiotic Awareness Day.

Pharmacy in the community

Community pharmacists are also taking on more work. Through the NHS Pharmacy First service, people can get treatment for seven common conditions, including sinusitis, sore throat, earache and urinary tract infections in women, from a high street pharmacy without seeing a GP.

Thinking of a career?

Pharmacy degrees are offered at Aston University and the University of Birmingham, and the NHS also trains pharmacy technicians and assistants through apprenticeships.