The Aural Apothecary (The Three Apothecaries)

Welcome to the Aural Apothecary Podcast. A lighthearted take on the world of medicines, pharmacy and healthcare in the UK from Jamie, Gimmo and Steve the Chemist. In this, our first episode, the boys introduce themselves and take on topics ranging from Aspirin to Compassion. Bruce Willis even makes a guest appearance.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary Playlist at https://open.spotify.com/user/steve.williams55/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=G50Q9tGHRoypwzQrZmbRwQ

Jamie’s book choice was ‘Beyond Command and Control’ by John Seddon. You can find more about it here; https://vanguard-method.net/beyond-command-and-control-book/.

The Freakanomics podcast ‘How do you cure a compassion crisis?’ can be found at https://freakonomics.com/podcast/compassionomics/ and the article Gimmo refers to is here; https://complexwales.com/2019/08/05/compassionistas/#more-2119

You can find out more on the History of Aspirin here in the Pharmaceutical Journal - https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/news-and-analysis/infographics/a-history-of-aspirin/20066661.article

And finally – Bruce Willis really was kicked out of a Pharmacy in LA https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-55644107 .

We meet our first guest, Clare Howard. Clare has worked in pharmacy since she was 16 and in the past was Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for NHS England. She is now the Medicines Optimisation Clinical Director for the Wessex Academic Health and Sciences Network.

We discuss Clare's choice of Desert Island Drug, a book that has influenced her career and a song for the Aural Apothecary playlist. While making fun of Jamie we discuss polypharmacy, PINCER, multimorbidity as well as middle aged apathy.

The paper we discuss is the Lancet paper ‘Epidemiology of multimorbidity and implications for healthcare, research and medical education’ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)60240-2/fulltext.

Clare’s book choice was ‘Invisible Women’https://www.waterstones.com/book/invisible-women/caroline-criado-perez/9781784706289 and her song choice was ‘I can see clearly now’ by Jonny Nash. You can see the Aural Apothecary playlist at https://open.spotify.com/user/steve.williams55/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=iMh-pTPtQtWrM65wtXd9yQ.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

The Aural Apothecary welcomes Dr Amira Guiguis. Amira is a pharmacist who gained her PhD in the in-field detection of New Psychoactive Substance (NPS) and is currently the MPharm Programme Director at Swansea University Medical School and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire.

We discuss the establishment of the new School of Pharmacy in Swansea, the difficulties with supervised administration during the pandemic and the surprising risks posed by herbal teas…

As with all our guests we discuss Amira’s choice of Desert Island Drug, a book that has influenced her career and a song for the Aural Apothecary playlist.

This week’s talking point is ‘Support for staff following patient safety incidents’. This national learning report explores insights into how NHS staff are supported by their trusts following patient safety incidents. https://www.hsib.org.uk/investigations-cases/support-for-staff-following-patient-safety-incidents/

Amira’s book choice is Narconmics - How to run a drug cartel by Tom Wainwright https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25159062-narconomics and her song choice was ‘Purple Haze’ by Jimi Hendrix. You can see the Aural Apothecary playlist at https://open.spotify.com/user/steve.williams55/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=iMh-pTPtQtWrM65wtXd9yQ.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

The Aural Apothecary welcomes Dr Lawrence Brad. A partner and GP prescribing lead at a large GP Practice in Bournemouth. He is also a Fellow of the RCGP and acts as the RCGP representative for clinical pharmacists. He is a clinical teaching fellow at the University of Bath school of Pharmacy and Pharmacology and one of the Wessex LMC GP education programme leads.

He has published with both Jamie and STC about the benefits of clinical pharmacists in general practice including how this new cadre of health professionals in general practice can even help make working in primary care a more attractive choice for potential GP recruits by improving system resilience, personal resilience and wellbeing.
https://bjgplife.com/2020/06/17/clinical-pharmacists-within-primary-care-networks-another-driver-for-collaborative-general-practice/

We discuss the risks of post-covid fatigue and the use of wearable technology. We explore the role of clinical pharmacists and the synergistic relationship pharmacists can have with prescribers.

As with all our guests we discuss Lawrence’s choice of Desert Island Drug, a book that has influenced his career and a song for the Aural Apothecary playlist.

This week’s talking point is the paper “What role is there for ‘nudging clinicians?’ - a recent paper from the British Journal of General Practice” https://bjgp.org/content/71/703/82.

The paper Gimmo refers to is EAST; Four Simple Ways to apply Behavioural Insights https://www.bi.team/publications/east-four-simple-ways-to-apply-behavioural-insights/.

Lawrence’s book choice is “How to implement evidence based healthcare by Trisha Greenhalgh https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35533260-how-to-implement-evidence-based-healthcare and his song choice is “When love comes to town” by U2 and BB King https://open.spotify.com/track/2cpUudtTX7OU6DcoNTuxwB?si=d8f47a3a6b704575

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

John is an integrated healthcare manager for the Pharmaceutical Industry as well as a former international rugby player, having hugely successful careers in both codes – rugby union and rugby league. Playing for the British Lions and Wales in both Rugby Union and Rugby League, as well as Bridgend RFC, Sale Sharks and Widnes, amongst others.

As well as his amazing career we talk to John about transitioning between different careers, the use of NSAIDs in sport and the old Horse and Groom pub in Cardiff. We find out about the time Jamie and STC shared a pitch with John at what turned out to be a career defining moment...

This weeks talking point is based around the paper “Oral non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug use in recreational runners participating in Parkrun UK: Prevalence of use and awareness of risk” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijpp.12646.

John’s book choice is Skill in Sport; The attainment of proficiency by Barbara Knapp https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15184003-skill-in-sport. His song choice was Alive and Kicking by Simple Minds; https://open.spotify.com/track/2x5IXUFOcvvBUtEpnCBNlp?si=0eTDHh5LRUmvki1KaEYaZw.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

Lindsay is the Director of Pharmacy at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Group . Previously she was the lead intestinal failure specialist pharmacist on the national intestinal failure unit at Salford and worked at the University of Manchester as a honorary clinical lecturer and module leader on the postgraduate clinical pharmacy diploma.

We talk to Lindsay about the role of clinical pharmacists and their transition from primary to
secondary care. In addition we chat about systems leadership,resilience in healthcare especially during the pandemic and various places we have watched iconic Scotish bands.

This week's discussion is themed around the press generated by the drugs semaglutide and liraglutide and their role in obesity management.

Lindsays book choice is ‘Personal Resilience for Healthcare Staff’ by John Edmonstone https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18294288-personal-resilience-for-healthcare-staff and her music choice is ‘I’m on my way’ by The Proclaimers. https://open.spotify.com/track/1HuAR7RyNWQq6vHwOFHWqx?si=cbfc46a0f56f4392


To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

Mark is an NHS palliative care consultant and honorary professor at Cardiff University School of Medicine. He founded TalkCPR.wales and has a national lead role to improve public understanding on topics relevant to care in the last years of life and at the extreme ends of medicine. He has given a Ted Talk on why subtleties in language are critical in modern healthcare and writes for international newspapers like the Washington Post. Mark has also done extensive television, theatre and radio media work and even talked about medical topics at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Hay Literary Festival.

We chat to Mark about conversations about end-of-life care, do-not-resuscitate decisions and Benedict Cumberbatch. This week's discussion is themed around the use of patients’ medicines at home (https://dtb.bmj.com/content/59/1/3).

Marks ‘Thanks You Letter to David Bowie’ can be found at https://blogs.bmj.com/spcare/2016/01/15/a-thank-you-letter-to-david-bowie-from-a-palliative-care-doctor/. His book choices are The Plague by Albert Camus and Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. His music choice is, of course, Changes by David Bowie.

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the aural apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

Jonathan is owner of, and a successful pharmacy podcaster and publisher at, Pharmacy in Practice - www.pip.scot. Jonathan has worked in community pharmacy and general practice, using his prescribing qualification in both to run respiratory clinics.

We “blether” with Johnathan about Pharmacy in Scotland, his passion for independent prescribing and the risks and benefits posed to medicines supply by the role of Amazon Pharmacy. We ask Johnathan to choose a ‘Desert Island Drug’.

Johnathan’s book choice is the Ragged Trousered Philanthropist by Robert Tressell and his song choice is The Girl From Mars by Ash.

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the aural apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

Ravi is a pharmacist and graduate of the London School of Pharmacy, holds a Masters in Genomic Medicines and has been awarded fellowship by the Faculty of UK Clinical Informatics. He is currently the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Director for England as well as continuing to work as a GP practice prescribing pharmacist.

We chat to Ravi about his passion for pharmacogenomics and how it might revolutionise pharmacy practice alongside the role of a professional body in a pandemic. We ask him to select his career anthem, a book that has influenced his career and of course his ‘Desert Island Drug’.

Our Micro discussion is about Penicillin De-labelling. We refer to the following reports;

Focus group study exploring the issues and the solutions to incorrect penicillin allergy-labelled patients: an antibiotic stewardship patient safety initiative - https://ejhp.bmj.com/content/28/2/71

Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group guidance on Penicillin Allergy de-labelling https://www.sapg.scot/quality-improvement/hospital-prescribing/penicillin-allergy-de-labelling

Penicillin de-labelling behavioural change package https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/10/e035793
You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary
You can listen to the aural apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg


To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

Angela leads the Northern Ireland Medicines Safety Team supporting health and social care trusts in preventing avoidable medicines related harm. We discuss the World Health Organisations ‘Medicines Safety Challenge’ and the importance of Human Factors in Healthcare. We get back onto the subject of drug pronunciations and learn something more about Steve the Chemist's early career…

As with all our guests we ask Angela to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work.

Find out more about the WHO Challenge and the excellent “Transforming medication safety in Northern Ireland” publication here; https://view.pagetiger.com/Transforming-medication-safety-in-Northern-Ireland

Our micro-discussion focuses on the impact pharmacist-led feedback has on prescribing errors - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33341404/.

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the aural apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

Samantha is a pharmacy technician who has worked in community and hospital pharmacy, education and regulation. We chat about Samantha’s role as an elected Governor for Guy’s and St Thomas and how feedback is vital to support staff wellbeing. Sam proves herself a superfan of the podcast in our end of series quiz.

As with all our guests we ask Samantha to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work.

Our micro-discussion focuses on ‘Remote Medicines Management’ and the role that technology can play in helping people to take their medicines at home https://fabnhsstuff.net/fab-stuff/remote-medicines-management-service-improves-health-outcomes.

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

Welcome back for series 2! We talk to Jonathan Underhill who is a consultant clinical adviser for NICE and has a research interest in Evidence-Informed Decision Making. We discuss the new NICE 5 year strategy, Shared Decision making and what autobiographies can teach us about human behaviour. Alongside this we discuss his love of The Boss, animals and drug allergies and a toxicology murder-mystery.

As with all our guests we ask Jonathan to pick his ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced his work. The choices do not disapoint!

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

We chat to Dr Karen Sankey - a GP of 25 years who is currently working at St Werburghs medical practice for the homeless. Karen talks about her frustration with the current medical model and how in her view it does not serve the most vulnerable people and their needs. Taking her learnings from the last 5 years she has designed and delivered the award winning Community Support Hub - a multiagency drop-in service for the homeless and rough sleepers.

Our micro-discussion focuses on the overprescribing of Pregablin and the recent campaign by the Daily Mail to highlight the issue. We also get into the hype surrounding Prozac in the 90s and the even more famous children's book - a Squash and a Squeeze!

As with all our guests we ask Karen to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work.

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

We chat to Dr Tessa Lewis - Tessa is a GP in Blaenavon, Wales and a Therapeutics and Medical Advisor. As well as being the author of the renowned ‘NO-TEARS’ medication review framework (https://www.bmj.com/content/329/7463/434) Tessa was awarded the ‘Distinguished Contribution to NICE Award’ for her contribution to its work.

Our micro-discussion focuses on the paper ‘potentially inappropriate prescribing of drugs in primary care’ from the British Journal of General Practice (https://bjgp.org/content/early/2021/05/04/BJGP.2020.0871). We talk again about NICE, the need to make things simpler - not simplistic - as well as stand-up paddleboarding, the impact of noise and the potential role of magic mushrooms in managing depression.

As with all our guests we ask Tessa to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work.

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com.

We chat to Jill Cruikshank - a community pharmacist in Edinburgh who works in Community Pharmacy Development in NHS Lothian. In addition Jill is a coach, trainer and speaker who runs her own consultancy Leading2Solutions. She is currently writing a book inspired by the development work she has done with early years pharmacists.

We talk with Jill about ‘Pharmacy First’ - the Scottish Minor Ailments Scheme, writing a book and of course the recent ‘Friends’ reunion and the importance of hugs. Our micro-discussion focusses on the nature, severity and causes of medication incidents from an Australian community pharmacy incident reporting system: the QUMwatch study https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bcp.14924.

As with all our guests we ask Jill to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work.

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

Rachel is a pharmacist and Professor of Health Economics at University of Manchester. Rachel has worked with Datalab, NICE and Academic Health Science networks to contribute health economics input of commissioning. She was also one of the first ICU pharmacists ever appointed in the UK. Rachel was also involved in the development and evaluation of the PINCER and the New Medicines Service.

We chat to Rachel about ‘having a foot in two camps’, rationing and the over-use of technology to solve problems. We carry on with the feature no-one is talking about - Pets and their medicines.

As with all our guests we ask Rachel to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work.

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

Mark is an NHS GP and award winning journalist. He spends half his week working as a GP partner in rural Gloucestershire, and the rest investigating and reporting on the latest developments in medicine. As well as a regular column in the Times, Mark is a regular on daytime TV GP and Radio 4.

We chat to Mark about his new practice pharmacy professionals, deprescribing, and the six-week wait for hospital discharge communication. We also pick up on the environmental impact of inhalers, giant frusemide tablets and the dangers of overplaying benefits vs underplaying risks. The 70’s gets a lot of mentions as well.

As with all our guests we ask Mark to pick his ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced his work. You will not be disappointed with the choices...

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

Fiona, a nurse and founder of nmprescribing which provides the opportunity for NMPs to continue to be safe and effective NMPs through access to Continued Professional Development.

Fiona has considerable expertise in all matters related to non-medical prescribing, having been an experienced nurse prescriber, and is now prescribing lead for nurses on the prescribing programme at Medway School of Pharmacy, University of Kent and University of Greenwich. She is also a member of the Nurse Prescribers Advisory Group for the British National Formulary.

We chat to Fiona about the evolution and role of non-medical prescribing and its place in care. We talk about competency frameworks, the celery of drugs and Steve and Fiona compare BNF collections!

Our micro discussion focuses on the competency framework for non-medical prescribing; https://www.rpharms.com/resources/frameworks/prescribers-competency-framework

Jamie reads from a letter - “Should Nurses Prescribe?”
https://bjgp.org/content/56/522/68

As with all our guests we ask Fiona to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work. You will not be disappointed with the choices...

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

Lelly began her career in community pharmacy and then worked as a primary care pharmacist, becoming the first UK community based consultant pharmacist in 2007. Her current role is at Guys and St Thomas and involves optimising medicines use in frail older people and she has a keen interest in approaches that consider the complex relationship between frailty, multimorbidity and polypharmacy. As a coach practitioner, Lelly enjoys inspiring people and is part of the NHS #lookingafteryou coaching staff for BAME staff during the pandemic.

We discuss the wicked problem that is medicines optimisation and how the solution is often to ‘play what is in front of you’. We talk about Zebra’s, glucose eaters and the importance of ‘crucial conversations’. Our micro-discussion is on ‘Mindlines’ and how they influence practice. Gimmo talks about burnout and reveals he’s never been on a dating app.

GPs’ mindlines on deprescribing antihypertensives in older patients with multimorbidity: a qualitative study in English general practice; https://bjgp.org/content/71/708/e498
As with all our guests we ask Lelly to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work. You will not be disappointed with the choices...

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

We welcome our first guest from the United States - Professor Dave Slawson. Dr Slawson currently serves as the Chair of Family medicines for Atrium Health Carolinas medicines Center and is a Professor of Family Medicines with the University of North Carolina amongst many other positions. He is an international lecturer in evidenced-informed decision making and Information Mastery.

We chat to Dave about the concept of Information Mastery, and his trip to Cardiff in 2005. We talk about the 5 harms of overdiagnosis, sustainability, clinical jazz and the time Jamie met Captain Spock. This is one for all who are interested in how we access and use information to best effect in an age when it can be easy to be overwhelmed.

Our micro discussion is on Reducing overuse by recognising the unintended harms of good intentions https://ebm.bmj.com/content/26/2/46.

Steve references a podcast that discusses the recent decision by the FDA to grant approval to Aducanumab. You can listen to the podcast here; https://therapeuticseducation.org/episode-483-aducanumab-for-alzheimers-forget-about-it/

As with all our guests we ask Dave to pick his ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced his work. You will not be disappointed with the choices...

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

We welcome the final guest for series 2 - Dr Mark Holland. Mark is Associate Professor at the University of Bolton and formerly a Consultant in geriatric medicine at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, before moving into Acute Medicine. He was formerly President of the Society for Acute Medicine where he did so many TV interviews on behalf of his profession he ended up with his own IMDB database!

We chat to Mark about teaching during a pandemic as well as his reflections of his time working in acute medicine. We talk about the difficulties patients face managing medicines at home and once again the high cost of veterinary medicines. Our micro discussion focuses on educational stories from our careers and we discuss the highlights of the series.

Jamie references the TED talk Do you remember? Doctors make mistakes, can we talk
about them; https://www.ted.com/talks/brian_goldman_doctors_make_mistakes_can_we_talk_about_that
?language=en

As with all our guests we ask Mark to pick his ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced his work

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

Episode 3.1 - Dr Louise Newson - The Menopause Dr.

The Aural Apothecaries are back for Series 3! In this episode it is our great pleasure to interview Dr Louise Newson - also known as the Menopause Doctor. As well as a GP and menopause specialist, Louise is also host of the popular podcast ‘My Menopause Doctor’.

We chat to Louise about how the Menopause and the prescribing of HRT in general is an often neglected, misunderstood and underdiagnosed topic of healthcare - and the unnecessary suffering that happens as a result. Our micro-discussion focuses on the rights and wrongs of prescription charges and we find out who Gimmo met at the Greenman festival and what Steve woke up with in bed on his summer holidays.

As with all our guests we ask Louise to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work.

https://www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/aligning-the-upper-age-for-nhs-prescription-charge-exemptions-with-the-state-pension-age

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

BIO - Dr Louise Newson BSc(Hons) MBChB(Hons) MRCP FRCGP
Louise is a GP and menopause specialist. She is an advisor to the NHS and on the Clinical Steering Committee for NHSEI’s Menopause Improvement Programme. She is the director of Newson Health Ltd (www.newsonhealth.co.uk) She runs a menopause and wellbeing centre in Stratford-upon-Avon which is the largest menopause clinic in the world. She has developed the menopause information website www.menopausedoctor.co.uk and the free menopause app “balance” – www.balance-app.com. She has also authored the Haynes Menopause Manual. Louise is the founder and a trustee for The Menopause Charity – www.themenopausecharity.org which will support and empower women with evidence-based knowledge in many different ways.
She has also set up a not-for-profit company – Newson Health Research and Education. She has recently launched the Confidence in the Menopause educational programme - www.fourteenfish.com/menopause/welcome and is involved in research with colleagues in Warwick, Oxford and Liverpool Universities and London School of Tropical Medicine. Louise has contributed to menopause related articles in different newspapers and magazines and been on numerous radio and TV programmes. She also hosts a weekly podcast for women (entitled Newson Health).

Episode 3.2 - Chris Martin - Good for us, Good for you, Good for Everybody

In this episode it is our great pleasure to be joined by Chris Martin. Chris is a community pharmacist by background with extensive experience in a wide variety of Public Sector Roles. These have included being Chairman of Hywel Dda University Health Board and the Welsh NHS Confederation. Currently he is Chair of the Life Sciences Wales and the Bevan Commission.

We chat to Chris about his fascinating career in pharmacy and how it has influenced him in these senior roles and the difficulties faced in prescribing when it comes to innovation, scale and spread.

Our micro-discussion this week focuses on the recent on over-prescribing report from the Department of Health - Good for us, Good for You, Good for Everybody. Game changer or more of the same? https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-overprescribing-review-report

As with all our guests we ask Chris to pick his ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced his work.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

BIO - Dr Chris Martin Bpharm (Hons) FRPharmS Dlitt
A Pharmacist by profession, Chris gained an honours degree in Pharmacy in Cardiff before going on to own and build two successful independent community pharmacy businesses in the West Country and in Pembrokeshire.
He has extensive experience in the Public Sector having been Chairman of four separate health organisation in West Wales over the last 20 years and until his retirement he was the Chairman of Hywel Dda University Health Board, the Welsh NHS Confederation and the co-ordinating chairman of all health organisations in Wales.
He is currently the Chairman of Life Sciences Hub Wales, Chairman and Non-Executive Director of the ESNR Audit and Risk Committee, member of the main Welsh Government Audit and Risk Committee and Co-Vice Chairman of the Bevan Commission with an interest in Innovation and End of Life care.
He is Managing Director of his own property development company, runs a portfolio of investment properties, Chairman of the Port of Milford Haven and a Non-Executive Advisor on the Board of Alliance Healthcare Distribution UK Ltd.
He has several voluntary and charitable roles including Trustee and Board member of Marie Curie UK, Chairman of the Wales Advisory Board for Marie Curie Cymru, Governor of Spittal School and acts as a mentor on a voluntary basis.
Chris was awarded a fellowship by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 2006 for outstanding contribution to the practice of community pharmacy and an Honorary Doctorate (DLitt) by Swansea University in 2018 in recognition of his distinguished career and contribution to public life in Wales.

Ever heard the term Value Based Healthcare and wondered what it meant? Well wonder no more. This week's guest, Dr Sally Lewis explains all. Sally is the National Clinical Director for Value Based Healthcare and Prudent Health in Wales as well as a practicing GP.

We chat to Sally live from her shed about the importance of an outcome focussed approach, PROMS & PREMS (Patient Reported Outcome/Experience Measures) and kitchen discos. The stream at the bottom of Sally's garden brings an extra level of mindfulness to this week's episode.

Our micro-discussion this week focuses on the importance of feedback. How do you know if you have done a good job? https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/30/7/591

As with all our guests we ask Sally to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work. The choices do not disappoint!

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

This week we are joined from Canada by Professor James McCormack. James is a pharmacist and co-host of the Best Science Medicine Podcast and is world renowned for his entertaining take on shared decision making and using evidence based information. James also uses music to teach others about polypharmacy and deprescribing. No, really!

We chat to James about his hugely successful podcast, the importance of informed shared decision making and how we can all do it. We discuss the dangers of always doing things the same way because that is the way they have always been done and the thankless task of drug monitoring. Jamie and Steve dance along to some music but thankfully you can’t see that.

Our micro discussion focuses on ‘The four research papers I wish my doctor had read before prescribing an antidepressant’ (https://bjgplife.com/the-four-research-papers-i-wish-my-doctor-had-read-before-prescribing-an-antidepressant/) and ‘Tapering antidepressants; why do tens of thousands turn to facebook for support?’ (https://bjgp.org/content/71/708/315).

As with all our guests we ask James to pick his ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced his work. The choices do not disappoint!

You can find our more about the Best Science Podcast at https://therapeuticseducation.org/.

Bohemian Polypharmacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp3pFjKoZl8&t=41s

Professor James McCormack Bio

James received his undergraduate pharmacy degree at the University of British Columbia in 1982 and received his doctorate in pharmacy (Pharm.D.) in 1986 from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina.
He has had extensive experience, both locally and internationally, talking to health professionals and consumers about the rational use of medication, and has presented over 500 seminars on drug therapy over the last 30 years.
He focuses on shared decision-making using evidence based information and rational therapeutic principles and he is also the co-host of a very popular weekly podcast called the Best Science (BS) Medicine podcast.
He also has a book entitled the Nutrition Proposition which is close to completion

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

This episode it is our honour to be joined by Dr Diane Ashiru-Oredope. Diane is the Lead Pharmacist for the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Healthcare Associated Infections, UK Health Security Agency and the Global AMR lead for the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association. Diane developed and leads the international Antibiotic Guardian campaign and is currently leading an evidence review into pharmaceutical public health.

We chat to Diane about the risks posed by Antimicrobial Resistance - COVID has given us a valuable, and frightening, insight into what happens when we are faced with a disease we can’t treat. We also touch on her amazing work in supporting black and ethnic minority pre-registration pharmacists and the importance of developing good habits. We discuss Welsh maggots, find out why Gimmo is eating sauerkraut, standing on one leg and playing more computer games.

Our micro discussion focuses on Antibiotic overuse: managing uncertainty and mitigating against overtreatment. A fantastic editorial that asks the question - What do you do when you don’t know what to do? https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/early/2021/07/20/bmjqs-2021-013615

As with all our guests we ask Diane to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work. The choices do not disappoint!

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

Bio

Dr Diane Ashiru-Oredope MPharm DipClinPharm MPH PhD FRPharmS FFRPS FRSPH

Dr Diane Ashiru-Oredope is the Lead Pharmacist for the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Healthcare Associated Infections, UK Health Security Agency and the Global AMR lead for the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association. An antimicrobial pharmacist by background, she has significantly contributed to or led several multicounty and international projects and workshops on tackling antimicrobial resistance including assessing knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of healthcare workers as well as developed relevant training.

She developed and leads the international Antibiotic Guardian campaign (#AntibioticGuardian), now in its seventh year and is underpinned by behavioural science.

In 2015 Dr Diane Ashiru-Oredope was awarded Public Health Pharmacist of the year and in 2016 Outstanding Woman in the Public Sector at the 10th PRECIOUS awards. She was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (FRPharmS) in February 2017 and a Faculty Fellow (FFRPS) in 2016. She has been nominated and delivered TEDx talks at TEDxNHS and TEDxLondonBusinesSchool

Diane is currently leading an evidence review on pharmaceutical public health on behalf of the four UK Chief Pharmaceutical Officers. She is passionate about supporting and mentoring future pharmacists and in 2018 founded a free mentoring/support group for trainee pharmacists.

We are joined by Tracy Lyons. Tracy is a medicines optimisation pharmacist and the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association’s Environment & Sustainability advisor. In March 2021 Tracy helped to form ‘Pharmacy Declares’, a self-convened group of ‘climate conscious’ pharmacy professionals calling for our professional/regulatory bodies to 1) declare a climate emergency 2) fully divest from fossil fuels & 3) provide climate-health education and leadership.

In the episode we hear about the progress being made by Pharmacy Declares as they try to motivate and mobilise the prescribing and pharmacy profession into taking action against global climate change. We discuss the term ‘Planetary Health’ and how we must view climate change as a public health issue, not just a political one. We also discuss firemen on airplanes, the role of bees in tackling antimicrobial resistance and we find out why Tracy has this week been drinking champagne.

Our micro discussion focuses on healthcare’s response to climate change: a carbon footprint assessment of the NHS in England. What are the drugs and devices that contribute most to harming the environment and what can we do about it?
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30271-0/fulltext

As with all our guests we ask Tracy to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work. The choices do not disappoint despite a stewards inquiry into the song choice!

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

Bio

Medicines Optimisation Pharmacist at University Hospitals Dorset (lives in beautiful Bournemouth!) & UK Clinical Pharmacy Association’s Environment & Sustainability advisor.
I’d describe myself as a life-long environmentalist and I’ve always been a bit of a nature nerd but over the last few years have increasingly understood the importance of planetary health as a requirement for human health. I’m a member of Medact (Health professionals for a safer, fairer, better world) and Doctors for Extinction Rebellion. In March 2021 I formed ‘Pharmacy Declares’, a self-convened group of ‘climate conscious’ pharmacy professionals calling for our professional/regulatory bodies to 1) declare a climate emergency 2) fully divest from fossil fuels & 3) provide climate-health education and leadership.
In the last 8ish months our membership has grown to span all 4 nations within the UK and we’re now working with colleagues in the EU, USA and Australasia. ‘We’ are everyone from undergraduates to Chief/Consultant pharmacists and professors of education/research. So far we’ve seen the 3 climate emergency declarations (UKCPA > APTUK> RPS), the RPS divest £1m from fossil fuels – more is to come!

Our message is that we’re facing an extremely serious situation that will change the shape and length of our lives, but pharmacy as a profession has the potential to delivery health in a way that’s never before been possible. We want everyone to get their superhero pants on and save the world!

Ho Ho Ho and a Joyeux Noel to you all. Join us for our end-of-year Christmas Special in which we are joined by previous guests, friends and colleagues for a cosy (and virtual) fireside festive chat.

What a line-up we have for you joining the Apothecaries;

From Episode 1.2 - Claire Howard, Medicines Optimisation Pharmacist and Wiganer
From Episode 1.10 - Sam Quaye, Pharmacy Technician Extraordinaire
From Episode 1.6 - Professor Mark Taubert, Bowie fanatic and end-of-life care Dr
From Episode 2.1 - Jonathan Underhill, NICE guy
From Episode 2.5 - Professor Rachel Elliot, Academic and Health Economist
From Episode 2.8 - Lelly Oboh, Older people’s Pharmacist

Our guests offer us some reflections on the year and some hopes for 2022 as well as facing off in two teams for that lockdown favourite, and Christmas tradition - a Quiz! Who will win - The Blisters or The Shared Decision Makers?

It has been a tough year for us all. Thank you for supporting our podcast. We really appreciate your support and look forward to some more pub based CPD in 2022!

Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

We are joined in this episode by Lisa Green. Lisa is a medicines safety specialist with a pharmacy career spanning 20 years and was named as one of the Pharmaceutical Journal's ‘Women to Watch’ in 2020. Aside from her day job as Head of Pharmacy Operations for one of Europe’s largest mental health charities, Lisa is a farm and animal health consultant with a Masters Degree in Veterinary Pharmacy.

We chat to Lisa about both of her careers and the challenges and opportunities in having a dual role. We find out about the legalities of prescribing veterinary medicines and the never ending problem of benzodiazepines. It is a surprise to us to learn that the rules of prescribing in veterinary medicine have not changed for decades.

Our micro-discussion focuses on a recent article in the Harvard Business Review - When is Humour Helpful? https://hbr.org/2021/11/when-is-humor-helpful. We discuss the role of humour in healthcare, when it is helpful and when it poses a risk. Steve and Gimmo try to tell funny stories - and both fail.

As with all our guests we ask Lisa to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work. The choices do not disappoint.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

We go slightly left of field in this week's episode when we talk to award winning clinical negligence lawyer Stephen Webber.

Stephen has been involved in many medicines related cases and talks to us about the Law of Tort and how healthcare professionals can better manage risk. We chat about recent proposals to replace the negligence system with one of ‘no-fault’ and why it might not be such a good idea. We find out what doctors talk about on the side of the rugby pitch when there is a lawyer around.

Our micro-discussion stays with the legal theme and focuses on Regulation 28 Coroner reports and how they could be better used to improve safety. In particular we focus on the recent paper Tramadol: Repeated prescriptions, repeated warnings, https://ebm.bmj.com/content/26/6/e17.

As with all our guests we ask Stephen to pick his ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced his work. The choices do not disappoint.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

A fascinating episode this week where we talk to Tracy Brown – an award winning pharmacist working in Glasgow. As well as running primary care pain clinics Tracy runs the Pain Teach and Treat Programme. We chat about the difficulties of supporting people with chronic pain along with the concept of Analgesic Stewardship. As ever we throw a bit of behaviour change into the mix.
Our micro-discussion focuses on General Practice responses to opioid prescribing feedback – a paper which examines how detailed feedback to prescribers can improve patient care https://bjgp.org/content/71/711/e788.

As with all our guests we ask Tracy to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work. The choices do not disappoint.

We reference a number of pain resources – these include;
- Live Well with Pain – https://livewellwithpain.co.uk
- Flipping Pain – https://flippinpain.co.uk

LIVE SHOW!!!
We hold our first Live Show in Cardiff on the 19th February where we talk to a patient about their experiences undergoing treatment for leukaemia. This is a story not to be missed – and what's more it is completely free!

Book your tickets here; https://www.cardiffsciencefestival.co.uk/en/events/the-aural-apothecary.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

Tracy’s Bio
Tracy moved from community pharmacy to primary care 17 years ago. She ran a benzodiazepine step down clinic for several years before, in 2006, Tracy started a pain clinic in one of the GP practices in Glasgow {Govanhill Health Centre.

In 2020 Tracy applied for Scottish Government funding under the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme to expand her pain clinic to cover the three additional GP practices in Govanhill Health Centre.

She now runs the Pain Teach and Treat programme, attends the Pain Network meetings and is a become a member of the Scottish Pain Pharmacists Network.

In 2021 Tracy won the PRESCQIPP award for Addressing Overprescribing and was voted the Silver award winner for her work on deprescribing.

It is the end of Series 3 and we go out on a high! We are joined by Dr Pete Turton. Pete qualified from Liverpool with a degree in medicine and a Masters degree in uterine physiology. He is currently undergoing dual training in both anaesthesia and intensive care. He has also tried his hand as a stand-up comedian and is one of the stars of ‘The Placemat’ podcast.

We chat about the perils and pitfalls of social media today and the role it plays in modern practice. We hear about the difficulties of being a trainee and stories from the modern day healthcare frontline. We find out about a disturbing obsession with Eurovision.

Our micro discussion focuses on the National Poisons Information Service report 2020/21 - what is the Toxbase Top 10 and what are we doing about it? https://www.npis.org/Download/NPIS report 2020-21.pdf

As with all our guests we ask Pete to pick his ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced his work. These might be the three most surprising entries yet!

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

In this, our first ever live show we talk to our first ever patient! Jamie Brewster is an architect with the DB3 group and shares with us, and our live audience, his experiences as a cancer patient. It is a heartfelt story peppered with humour and pathos, and one that offers healthcare professionals plenty of food for thought. As usual with The Aural Apothecary Jamie shares with us his Desert Island Drug ©, anthem and book choice.

In addition, healthcare design has been a key feature of his career and he has been involved in the design of hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout the uk. He talks to us about combining his experience as a patient and an architect which led him to question the nature of the inpatient environment and suggest some new solutions in order to improve healing and aid recovery. We discuss his ideas which were recently presented at the 2021 European Healthcare Design Conference http://www.db3group.com/inpatient-environment-healing-module/.

Note; This show was recorded in front of a live audience in February 2022 at Milk and Sugar in Cardiff as part of the Cardiff Science Festival. The sound quality may not be up to its usual high standard. Thank you to the team at Cardiff Science Festival and Milk and Sugar (https://www.milkandsugarplease.com/) for their help and support and to our audience for joining in and laughing at our jokes.

Our next live show will be at the Clinical Pharmacy Congress, 14th May 2022 https://www.pharmacycongress.co.uk/.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

Welcome back for Series 4. We are joined by Consultant Geriatrician and bestselling author Dr Lucy Pollock. As Lucy tells us - we all become old if we are lucky. But how do we deal with it - as people and as health professionals? We chat about Lucy’s experience in working with the elderly and the importance of honesty, humour and shared decision making. We discuss ‘The Book about Getting Older (for People Who Don’t To Talk About it)’ - an inspirational and life-affirming read. This is a book you HAVE to read. In addition we talk about leopard skin underwear, regimes vs regimens and the importance of factfulness.

Our micro discussion focussed on the paper “Shared decision making between older people with multimorbidity and GPs: a qualitative study” https://bjgp.org/content/early/2022/04/04/BJGP.2021.0529. We discuss the 5 M’s (Mind, Mobility, Medications, Multi-Complexity, Matters most) and STC delivers his verdict on medico-legal vulnerability.

As with all our guests we ask Lucy to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work. Lucy is the first guest to bring a prop as part of her answers!

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

The Book about getting Older https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/315794/the-book-about-getting-older/9781405944434.html

Hans Rosling - The Best Stats you’ve ever seen thttps://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen

Lucy Pollock Bio

I am a consultant geriatrician. I love my job and sharing my enthusiasm for high quality patient-centered care of older people. We will all become old if we are lucky – older people are just the rest of us, grown up. I enjoy meeting and teaching students and AHPs, and watching our trainees learn what it is about geriatric medicine that is so irresistible. I am also made happy by family and friends, birds, plants, reading, music, food, wine, slow running and even slower swimming.

I trained at Cambridge and Barts and worked as a junior doctor in the East End, Camden and Lambeth before moving to Somerset in 1997. I’ve chaired our clinical ethics committee for 10 years, represented geriatric medicine on the NICE hypertension re-write of 2017, and am currently Clinical Director for Frailty at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. I’m proud to have contributed a tiny part of the Medicine for Older People syllabus for Bristol University Medical School, which I will claim is the most comprehensive, effective and popular undergraduate training in geriatric medicine in the world.

In this week’s episode we talk about Prescribing in Prison. We are joined by Rebecca Hunter who as well as being a prison pharmacist is a clinical leadership fellow working in Health Education and Improvement Wales. Rebecca is passionate about the role that pharmacy has in supporting those in prison environments as well as improving health inequalities. We discuss the challenges posed by prescribing in a secure environment where the balance of risk between security and medicines safety is a tricky tightrope to walk.

Our micro discussion focused on the HEalth Service Investigation Branch report ‘management of chronic health conditions in prisons’ which tells the story of Martin, a 43-year old inmate, who suffered multiple seizures after his epilepsy medication wasn’t transferred with him to a new prison. https://www.hsib.org.uk/investigations-and-reports/management-of-chronic-health-conditions-in-prisons/.

As with all our guests we ask Lucy to pick a career influencing drug, anthem and a book that has influenced her work. Becca is an avid reader who has a library to match Jamie’s!

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

In this week’s episode we are thrilled to be joined by Delyth James. Professor James is Professor of Health Psychology in Pharmacy Practice at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Delyth is a pharmacist with experience of training and education and working as a renal pharmacist in hospitals across the world. Delyth’s main area of research is ‘Health Psychology and Medicines use.

Paul is away this week so Steve and Jamie are joined by guest apothecary Clare Howard. We chat about Delyth’s experience of a heart condition and how she used her experience as a health psychologist to deal with it. We discuss behavioural change and the COM-B model and reflect on how it feels to make a dispensing error. We also found out how Steve has broken the podcast – frankly we are surprised it took him this long.

Our micro discussion focuses on the paper “Effectiveness of a medication adherence management intervention in a community pharmacy setting: a cluster randomised controlled trial” – a recent paper from the BMJ Quality and Safety that looks at how a focus on adherence may improve chronic disease management https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/qhc/early/2021/03/28/bmjqs-2020-011671.full.pdf.

As with all our guests we ask Delyth to pick a career influencing drug, anthem and a book that has influenced her work. Her song choice is a karaoke classic!

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

A real pleasure this week to welcome one the Pharmaceutical Journal's ‘Women to Watch in 2022’ Nkiruku Umuaru.

Nikkie is currently the Pharmacy Foundation Head of School, Interim Education and Training Lead at Health Education England as well Postgraduate Pharmacy Lead at the University of Herefordshire.

We chat to Nikkie about medicines in older people, and in particular how to have good conversations with them about their medicines. Nikkie tells us about how ‘Community Conversations about Medicines’ (often involving tea and cake) help patients understand their treatment, and also the MedCAM tool - a pre consultation aide-memoir that prepares people for their conversation with healthcare professionals.

Our Micro-discussion continues the theme of medicines in the elderly when we discuss the paper ‘Is polypharmacy associated with mortality in the very old:Findings from the Newcastle 85+ Study’ https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bcp.15211. Does each additional medicine really cause a 3% increase in mortality?

As with all our guests we ask Nikkie to pick a career influencing drug, anthem and a book that has influenced her work. For once Jamie hasn’t read the book choice!

Jamie references Dr Brian Goldmans Ted Talk - Drs Make Mistakes - Can we talk abou that; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUbfRzxNy20

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

This week we welcome Pharmacy's own National Treasure Professor Mahendra Patel OBE. Mahendra is a multi-award winning pharmacist and academic with professorial roles in a number of universities. He has led research into health inequalities, diabetes and COVID amongst many others. He is a Fellow of both NICE and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and a recipient of their prestigious Charter Medal. He is a passionate and life-long supporter of Leeds United!

Our chat with Mahendra is a fascinating journey through many aspects of his glittering career. As well as his recent work into COVID 19 treatments we chat about his breakthrough research using Statins to highlight health inequalities. We highlight how the face of research has changed as a result of the pandemic and we hear how Gimmo’s mum found a fan of the Podcast in the middle of Anglesey.

Our micro-discussion focussed on unacceptable behaviours between healthcare workers - https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/early/2022/04/14/bmjqs-2021-014157. What is the impact of poor behaviour of healthcare professionals on patient safety? How much of it is down to the individual and how much is down to environment and culture. What can be done about it?

As with all our guests we ask Mahendra to pick a career influencing drug, anthem and book. The book is possibly the biggest one yet…

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary


Bio
Professor Mahendra G Patel OBE PhD FHEA Alumni Fellow NICE FIPA (India) FRPharmS

Mahendra is a multi-award winning pharmacist and academic recognised by many as a national and international leader with professorial roles in pharmacy at a number of universities including Bradford, Birmingham City, Sussex, Bolton, Wilkes Pennsylvania USA and Universiti Sains Malaysia (Malaysia).

He is a founding member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) for the pharmacy profession and completed two full terms as its elected national pharmacy board, assembly member and Treasurer. His outstanding contributions in advancing pharmacy have been regularly recognised, receiving a Fellowship from the RPS in addition to its prestigious President’s Charter Award. He also led the work in developing its national diabetes policy, Using Pharmacists to help improve care for people with type-2 diabetes. As one of the leading figures within the pharmacy profession he is now a selected member of the newly formed UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership.

At the University of Oxford, Mahendra remains one of its national leads in the world’s largest and fastest recruiting interventional clinical trials, PRINCIPLE and PANORAMIC trials, investigating treatment options for COVID-19 in the community and helping recruitment to be inclusive and diverse, with work reported in the Lancet.

Mahendra cherishes a longstanding relationship with NICE with his early pioneering work involving students from medical, dental, pharmacy and nursing faculties is a national programme across 40 universities. He became the first pharmacist to gain a fellowship through NICE (2013).

Mahendra remains an active member of the South Asian Health Foundation (SAHF) for many years and has served as its CEO (England). He was central to the team that won the BMJ Team Diabetes Awards involving community outreach work around preventing type-2 diabetes in South Asians (2016).

Mahendra is a valued advocate and advisor to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) for many years. His initial work with them led to the development of a national educational tool kit, the Healthy Hearts Tool Kit, which received the BMA Patient Information Award (2010). Mahendra has also been a judging panel member for BHF, and other awarding bodies including NICE, SAHF, C+D and HSJ.

Internationally, Mahendra has worked extensively with the Indian pharmacy profession and became the first to be appointed International Fellow of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (2019). As an inspiring educator, he is also Teaching and Faculty Member of the UNESCO Department of Education’s International Programme of Bioethics. In Lebanon, he was rewarded for his contributions and was appointed as its International Honorary Ambassador by Order of Lebanese Pharmacists (OPL). He was also the first to be appointed Global Ambassador of the University of Bradford.

Mahendra is highly active in promoting issues of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the NHS. In 2019, he received Outstanding Service Award for the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) and is now BAPIO Pharmacy Lead. He is a formal advisor on EDI to many national pharmacy organisations including Professional Advisor to the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer NHSE, and EDI Lead for the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists, Lloyds Pharmacy UK, and Well Pharmacy.

Mahendra was recognised in the 2022 Queen’s New Years Honours for his services and contributions to pharmacy nationally and internationally, and made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE). He has since received the highly distinguished Pharmacy Business Ram Solanki Lifetime Achievement Award.

We have a special treat for you this week as we share the recording of our live show at this year’s Clinical Pharmacy Congress. And as an added bonus you get two guests for the price of one!

Our first guest is Kulpna Daya. Kulpna is a pharmacy technician and co-founder of Pharmacy Technicians of Colour. As an educational specialist, Kulpna has extensive clinical experience which she utilises to promote practice standards to trainees and established members of the team alike. Kulpna shares a very personal story with which everyone listening will empathise!

Second, we chatted to Professor Stephen Bazire. Stephen is a pharmacist who has been involved in mental health for many years, as Chief Pharmacist at the Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. He is also an Honorary Professor for the School of Pharmacy at the University of East Anglia, a Trustee for Norwich and Central Norfolk Mind. He will be known to many people as the author of The Psychotropic Drug Directory. Stephen shares some of the stories behind the creation of this seminal text.

Our micro-discussion is replaced by a Q&A with our live studio audience - risky at the time but it paid off and we have a great laugh with conference attendees. Who knew medicines could be so entertaining!

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can
listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

Find out more about the Clinical Pharmacy Congress here; www.pharmacycongress.co.uk/.

Details of the Pyschotropic Drug Directory can be found at; http://psychotropicdrugdirectory.com/.

We chat to Dr Wasim Baqir - a senior pharmacist from the Pharmacy Integration Programme at NHS England. Prior to this he led the national Medicines Optimisation in Care
Homes scheme for NHS England. He currently works across a number of areas
(primary care networks, health inequalities, community pharmacy, overprescribing and integrated care systems) supporting the national pharmacy integration programme.

Our chat with Was takes us through his career and work with developing pharmacy services with NHS England and in particular we discuss his work on medicines optimisation in care homes as part of the Health Foundations Shine Programme – a genuine game-changer.

Our micro-discussion focuses in on shared decision making and the paper ‘“I’m not the doctor; I’m just the patient”: Patient agency and shared decision-making in naturally occurring primary care consultations. Is this a useful development in shared decision making or are we in danger of ‘jumping the shark’?! Listen to find out what Was and the Apothecaries think. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34887159/.

We drop some exciting news about our next live show, and Steve lets us know how we can find out about his innermost secrets…

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary
Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

Multidisciplinary review of medication in nursing homes: a clinico-ethical framework - https://www.health.org.uk/improvement-projects/multidisciplinary-review-of-medication-in-nursing-homes-a-clinico-ethical

The Big Balance Theory Podcast 7- https://linktr.ee/bigbalancetheory

Biog
Wasim Baqir is a senior pharmacist from the Pharmacy Integration Programme at NHS England. Prior to this he led the national Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes scheme for NHS England. He currently works across a number of areas (primary care networks, health inequalities, community pharmacy, overprescribing and integrated care systems) supporting the national pharmacy integration programme.

He has a clinical role as lead pharmacist at Northumbria
Healthcare NHS Trust where he supports pharmacy teams, working collaboratively with doctors, nurses, social care and other professionals to develop and test services for patients across Northumberland and North Tyneside. Before this, he was the R&D and quality improvement pharmacist, leading on several projects
including Shine: optimising medicines in care homes.

He has a passion for personalised care and shared decision making;
especially in complex situations like care homes and frail elderly. Wasim is a member the Health Foundation’s Q Network and co-chairs the multidisciplinary medicines research group, PRIMM (Prescribing Research in Medicines Management).

We chat to Professor Debi Bhattacharya - Professor of Behavioural Medicine at the University of Leicester and a primary care pharmacist. Debi led on research into a behaviour change toolkit designed to reduce opioid prescribing and is now actively involved in a programme designed to implement this at a systems level. https://www.uea.ac.uk/groups-and-centres/patient-care-group/chronic-opioid-use-in-non-cancer-pain
We have a great chat with Debi about the challenges of implementing change at a systems level and the importance of behaviour change in clinicians as well as patients. We talk about intentional non-adherence and the impact of this, as well as the importance of understanding why a patient might not take their medicines.

Our micro-discussion focuses on a new set of shared decision guidelines produced by NHS England in conjunction with the Winton Centre for Risk Communication. These are a set of detailed tools aimed at helping patients understand the risk and benefits of treatment in advance of a consultation. We deliver our verdict on what could be a game changing set of tools. https://www.england.nhs.uk/shared-decision-making/decision-support-tools/. Gimmo uses them as yet another excuse to complain about his knee.

As with all of our guests, Debi shares with us a Meaningful Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her career. Great choices this week!

The Aural Apothecary Live!
See the Apothecaries live and join in with the conversation! Our next live show will be at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society National Conference. Book your place here; https://events.rpharms.com/website/8675/. If you would like us to appear at your next event then please get in touch via the email below.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

Debi Biography
I am Professor of Behavioural Medicine at the University of Leicester and a primary care pharmacist. My mission is to support NHS practitioners to apply behavioural science to implement positive change with a particular focus on addressing medicine optimisation challenges. Two key strands of this work are medication adherence and deprescribing. I led the design of the IMAB-Q which is funded by the NIHR to be developed into a service embedded into structured medication reviews to support primary care teams to work with patients to identify and address barriers to adherence. I also led development of the opioid toolkit which is a theory and evidence-based approach to system level change that equips practitioners to work with patients to taper opioids when the chance of harm outweighs benefit. The opioid toolkit is currently being implemented in one ICB and has been embedded across many systems globally. I am also the lead researcher of CHARMER which is an England-wide trial to test a hospital deprescribing intervention.

I am currently developing a training and mentoring programme for NHS practitioners to equip them with the skills and confidence to apply behavioural science to their identified medicines optimisation challenges.

Something different again this episode - we chat to Dave Murdoch - an Advanced Paramedic Practitioner with over 28 years of experience. Dave has worked in a wide variety of prehospital settings; ambulances, cars, helicopters as well as Urgent Care Centres, Emergency Departments and General Practice surgeries, and almost 3 years of medical development work in a post-Soviet medical system. His work with UK International Fire & Rescue has seen him deployed to earthquakes and floods in Haiti, Japan, New Zealand and Nepal.

This chat covers Dave’s role with International Rescue and the need for improvisation in high pressure situations when resources are scarce. Find out why a carpenter helped with an operation and why one of his biggest challenges involved building a bridge. We also cover the role of a primary care paramedic, get bogged down in lots of acronyms as Gimmo tries to do some CPD about ACB.*

Our micro-discussion looks at ‘Safety-Netting’ - safety netting refers to the provision of information to help patients or carers identify the need to consult a healthcare professional if a health concern arises or changes. But is it just a tick-box exercise or a true part of shared decision making? We discuss the paper “Optimising GPs’ communication of advice to facilitate patients’ self-care and prompt follow-up when the diagnosis is uncertain: a realist review of ‘safety-netting’ in primary care” - https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/31/7/541.

As with all of our guests, Dave shares with us a Memory Evoking Drug, a career anthem and book that has influenced his career. You literally couldn’t live without his choices today.!

Jargon Monoxide - a podcast for all!
We try to keep our medical jargon to a minimum. Our aim is that this podcast is enjoyed by all who are interested in stories about medicines whether they are a healthcare professional or not.

*CPD = Continuing Professional Development - learning we have to do to stay registered!
ACB = Anticholinergic Burden - an additive side-effect of certain medicines that can lead to, amongst other things, an increased risk of falls

The Aural Apothecary Live!
See the Apothecaries live and join in with the conversation! Our next live show will be at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society National Conference. Book your place here; https://events.rpharms.com/website/8675/. If you would like us to appear at your next event then please get in touch via the email below.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

Dave Murdoch on Linkedin; https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-murdoch-a2b1a91a5/

In this episode we talk to Dr Ben Allen. A GP partner and Clinical Director for Primary Care in Sheffield, Ben is passionate about empowering patients to understand the health system in order to improve their experience of care. His main area of interest is exploring how people can reach their full potential through building high performing teams. You can find our more about Ben Allen on Twitter; https://twitter.com/BenAllenGP

We chat to Ben about how, in his new role as Clinical Director for Primary Care at Sheffield he is trying to improve general practice with limited resource and under growing pressure. We explore the role that GP Receptionists might have in better coordinating the care of patients and the benefits of taking a whole system approach.

Our micro-discussion looks at the ‘Vanguard Method’ for service improvement in health and social care. What role does identifying the flow of work and failure demand have in improving quality of care? Jamie recounts his and Gimmo’s experience of using this in GP practices within South Wales; https://doi.org/10.12968/bjhc.2021.0040

As with all of our guests, Ben shares with us an Archipelago Drug, a career anthem and book that has influenced his career. His song choice may want to make you get up and sing…

The Aural Apothecary Live!
See the Apothecaries live and join in with the conversation! Our next live show will be at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society National Conference. Book your place here; https://events.rpharms.com/website/8675/. If you would like us to appear at your next event then please get in touch via the email below.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

What do football and pharmaceutical science have in common?!

In this, our final episode of series four, we go out on a high chatting to multi-award winning scientist, entrepreneur and philanthropist Professor Claire Thompson. Not only is Claire the Founder and CEO of Agility Life Sciences, a drug formulation development company, she is a former footballer who in 2020 launched Girls in Football Teams to support the development of skills through football.

We chat to Claire about the role pharmaceutical science plays in the development of medicines and her own experience during COVID and what it means for the future of drug development. Claire believes that playing football has given her skills not just for sport, but for business and so wants to ensure as many girls as possible get the chance to have the same experience. We discuss how the charitable work of her company supports Girls with Goals!

Our micro-discussion has an end-of-term feel about it this week when discuss ‘things in healthcare than annoy us!’ Inspired by an article in the Guardian by Adrian Chiles ‘When did everything become ‘awesome’ and ‘amazing’?. We knew this one would wind Steve up, and it did! www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/01/when-did-everything-become-awesome-and-amazing-i-blame-the-americans.

As with all of our guests, Claire shares with us an Memory Pill, a career anthem and book that has influenced her career. Let’s just say this is the first time someone has picked a drug they were actually responsible for developing!

Live shows and special episodes
This will be our last regular episode until early in 2023 but don’t fear – there will be a number of special themed episodes between now and them. Stay tuned to Twitter for more details and keep an eye on our podcast feed. And if you want to see us in person then come along the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Conference on November 11th (https://www.rpharms.com/events). This your chance to meet the apothecaries and share with us your drug, anthem and book choices.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

Claire on Twitter @claire6thompson.

For this special episode the Apothecaries are joined by Professor Phil Howard ,OBE, to discuss Antimicrobial Resistance and what we can all do to tackle it. Phil is well placed to discuss this with us as the Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead for the North-East & Yorkshire region of England and the former President of the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (18-24th November) aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance and to encourage best practices for using antimicrobials responsibly among the general public, health workers and policy makers, to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-antibiotic-awareness-day-resources-toolkit-for-healthcare-professionals-in-england/world-antimicrobial-awareness-week-waaw-and-european-antibiotic-awareness-day-eaad.

We explore why prescribers might feel compelled to prescribe antibiotics in spite of the risks and what can be done to support prudent prescribing. We hear examples of good practice and about the resources that are out there to help people. Don’t miss an exciting announcement about a future partnership between the Three Apothecaries and the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy! We discuss previous Health Secretary’s admission that she had shared unused antibiotics with friends and family…

As with all of our guests, Phil shares with us a Memorable Drug, a career anthem and book that has influenced his career. Expect an antimicrobial theme!

Our micro-discussion focuses on the role of community pharmacy in supplying antibiotics and in particular the sore throat test and treat service that is in operation in Wales. An improvement in care or a risk to resistance? We discuss the latest research and give our verdict (https://academic.oup.com/jac/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jac/dkac358/6770011).

The Royal Pharmaceutical Antibiotic Amnesty Toolkit can be found here; https://www.rpharms.com/resources/pharmacy-guides/antimicrobial-resistance-and-stewardship/antibiotic-amnesty.

The Antibiotic Freakonomics podcasts mentioned can be found at
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/cassandra-quave-thinks-the-way-antibiotics-are-developing-might-kill-us/
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/doctors-know-they-prescribe-too-many-antibiotics-why-dont-they-stop/

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary musical playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

Phil can be found on Twitter at @AntibioticLeeds

Phil Howard Bio
Philip Howard is the Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead for the North-East & Yorkshire region of England. He was a Consultant Pharmacist in Antimicrobials at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust until September 2021 and Honorary Visiting Professor at Leeds University. He is the former President of the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.
He was a member of the Dept of Health ARHAI Antimicrobial Stewardship Group that produced the original Start Smart then Focus Antimicrobial Stewardship Guidelines, and the HPA Primary Care Unit which helped produce the RCGP TARGET guidance on Antimicrobial Stewardship in Primary Care.
He is a member of the UK Dept of Health advisory group on AMR & HCAI and the NICE common infections guidelines group, NICE living CoVID guideline group and the NICE new models of antimicrobial funding committee.

His research interests include Antimicrobial Stewardship and antibiotic shortages. He led the first global hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship survey. He has been involved in AMS education and training across the world. He’s a Fellow of Royal Pharmaceutical Society and has won the GHP/GSK/UKCPA Clinical Leadership Award, the UKCPA Lifetime Achievement Award and awarded the Officer of the British Empire (OBE) medal for his services to healthcare. He is a spokesman for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society on Antimicrobials, and for the Antibiotic-Action and British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy charities.

Join the Three Apothecaries and some old friends as they gather around the fire and reflect on the year gone by. Jamie, Gimmo and Steve the Chemist are joined by friends of the show Clare Howard and Jonathan Underhill to discuss the highs and lows of 2022. Starting with COVID and ending with Strep A, what a year for healthcare and medicines it has been.

We discuss the role that community pharmacy has played in these unprecedented times and the national efforts underway to tackle deprescribing and polypharmacy. We reflect on the impact of some of our conversations, and our greater understanding of issues such as the menopause and growing old – apt, as a number of the apothecaries turned 50 this year!We discuss some of the books that we have enjoyed this year and the fun we had at our live events – plenty more of them to come! We preview 2023 and in a rare peak into the dispensary, we reveal which guest we have invited onto the show – and who has accepted, ignored or declined our approaches!

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our listeners.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

The podcast featuring David Haslam (author of Side Effects: How our Healthcare has lost its way) referenced in the episode can be found at https://ockham.healthcare/podcast-david-haslam-how-our-healthcare-lost-its-way/.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

We’re back! This series we are focussing on the patient and their experiences of medicines and we start with a cracker! Graham brings his expertise working for the pharmaceutical industry and as a pharmacologist (and one of the people behind the superdrug Tamoxifen) to helping people understand and use their medicines through the fantastic website www.meandmymedicines.org.uk.

We chat to Graham about his own experiences taking medicines and the approach of the health services to supporting patients in taking theirs. How much has it improved in the last twenty years or has it got worse? Graham argues that we are handing a huge responsibility to patients when we prescribe a medicine - is it fair to expect them to take on that burden without more support?
In our micro discussion we are looking at the Sunday Times Article “The NHS is flatlining. Here’s how to save it right now”. In it, health Editor Shaun Lintern suggests 10 ideas that he thinks might ‘save the NHS’. Well, we reckon our guests can do better and so for this series we are asking for their ideas on how they might improve the health of the NHS - what will be their ingredient for ‘Aural Apothecary 2023 NHS Tonic!’

As with all of our guests, Graham shares with us a Memorable Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced his career. The drug choice will leave a pleasant taste in the mouth…To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

What is more important? Quality of life or length of life? A question that our guest, Deborah Duval, faces on a daily basis. Deborah is Managing Editor at Kidney Care UK and lead for www.kidneykitchen.org - a place where eating is de-medicalised and where celebrity chefs cook kidney-patient friendly meals. She shares with us her experiences of being a recipient of multiple transplants and how she balances a busy lifestyle with a gruelling and complex treatment regimen. Can you imagine what it is like ‘never to have felt normal’?

How can we save the NHS? We continue with our new feature based on a recent Sunday Times Article “The NHS is flatlining - here’s how to save it right now” by Health Editor Shaun Lintern. In it he proposes 10 ideas that he thinks might ‘save the NHS’ and so we ask our guests what they think. What will Deborah’s idea be for the Aural Apothecary 2023 NHS Tonic?!

As with all of our guests, Deborah shares with us a Memorable Medicine, a life career anthem and book that has influenced her career. This week's choice is on fire…

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paul-gimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary

You can find out more about Deborah’s work, the Kidney Kitchen and the Kidney Matters magazine at https://www.kidneycareuk.org/about-kidney-health/kidney-matters/.

As a prelude to the next Series 5 episode with Professor Alf Collins, the Godfather of Shared Decision Making, we have dug into the Aural Apothecary Archives and found one of our best episodes about the importance of having meaningful conversations with patients about medicines.

Enjoy first time around if a new listener, or even more second time around if a loyal fan …
Jonathan Underhill is a consultant clinical adviser for NICE and has a research interest in Evidence-Informed Decision Making. We discuss the new NICE 5 year strategy, Shared Decision Making and what autobiographies can teach us about human behaviour. Alongside this we discuss his love of The Boss, animals and drug allergies and a toxicology murder-mystery.

As with all our guests we ask Jonathan to pick his ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced his work.
You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paulgimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary
You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=a7c4915ce1b54c37
To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

The Godfather of Shared Decision Making (SDM) has spoken, so listen up! (apologies for his microphone quality though)
Professor Alf Collins is currently NHS England’s Clinical Director for personalised care but he was a community consultant in pain management for many years and worked with the Health Foundation helping lead applied research and implementation programmes in person centred care. We go very deep on this one, and it is all very Radio 4, but we discuss the complexities of the person / clinician axis when it comes to SDM.
We also challenge each other to our TED talk ideas and STC comes up with another analogy between primary and secondary care.
As with all our guests we ask Alf to pick his ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced his work and he is quite the maverick…..
Links to references / books mentioned:
MAKING SHARED DECISION-MAKING A REALITY: No decision about me, without me Angela Coulter + Alf Collins. The Kings Fund 2011 https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/making-shared-decision-making-reality
What have Nobel Prize winners ever done for us? Dr Tim Wilson. Health Service Journal 2020 https://www.hsj.co.uk/service-design/what-have-nobel-prize-winners-ever-done-for-us/7027119.article
MedStrong: Shed Your Meds for a Better, Healthier You- Dr Donna Bartlett
You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31270100-paulgimson?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=the-aural-apothecary
You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=a7c4915ce1b54c37
To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

As a prelude to our next episode, where we discuss the issue of pain and opioid dependency, we are replaying a classic from the Aural Apothecary Archive. This is particularly timely as this is also the month that guidance on ‘Optimising personalised care for adults prescribing medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms’ has been issued in England. We will pick up on this guidance next time. In the meantime enjoy this prelude…

This was a fascinating episode where we talked to Tracy Brown – an award winning pharmacist working in Glasgow. As well as running primary care pain clinics Tracy runs the Pain Teach and Treat Programme. We talked about the difficulties of supporting people with chronic pain along with the concept of Analgesic Stewardship. As ever we threw a bit of behaviour change into the mix.

Our micro-discussion focused on General Practice responses to opioid prescribing feedback – a paper which examines how detailed feedback to prescribers can improve patient care https://bjgp.org/content/71/711/e788.

As with all our guests we asked Tracy to pick her ‘Desert Island Drug’, a career defining anthem and a book that has influenced her work. The choices do not disappoint.

We reference a number of pain resources – these include; - Live Well with Pain – https://livewellwithpain.co.uk-

Flipping Pain – https://flippinpain.co.uk To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; The Aural Apothecary - Bookcase:

Tracy’s Bio

Tracy moved from community pharmacy to primary care 17 years ago. She ran a benzodiazepine step down clinic for several years before, in 2006, Tracy started a pain clinic in one of the GP practices in Glasgow {Govanhill Health Centre.}In 2020 Tracy applied for Scottish Government funding under the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme to expand her pain clinic to cover the three additional GP practices in Govanhill Health Centre.She now runs the Pain Teach and Treat programme, attends the Pain Network meetings and is a become a member of the Scottish Pain Pharmacists Network In 2021 Tracy won the PRESCQIPP award for Addressing Overprescribing and was voted the Silver award winner for her work on deprescribing.

Our new website is now live - www.theauralapothecary.com

We are joined in this episode by Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients Association - an independent patient charity campaigning for improvements in health and social care for patients. Are patient information leaflets best used as wallpaper? We discuss the concerns that patients are bringing to the Patients Association which include medicines information and communication.

Our micro-discussion continues our examination of the recent Sunday Times Article “The NHS is flatlining - here’s how to save it right now” by Health Editor Shaun Lintern. In it he proposes 10 ideas that he thinks might ‘save the NHS’ and so we ask our guests what they think. What will Rachel’s idea be for inclusion in the ‘Aural Apothecary 2023 NHS Tonic?’

As with all of our guests, Rachel shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a life anthem and book that has influenced her career. This week's choice will leave an unpleasant taste in the mouth…

We also share some exciting news - our new website is now live! www.theauralapothecary.com. As well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think.

To get in touch, follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com .

Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O


You can find out more about the Patients Association here; www.patients-association.org.uk


The report from Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network: Is It Time To Reimagine Patient Information? is available here
https://kssahsn.net/improvement/is-it-time-to-reimagine-patient-information/


The report from Wessex AHSN - Written Medicine - increasing access to health and medical information for all patients is available here; https://wessexahsn.org.uk/projects/482/written-medicine-increasing-access-to-health-and-medical-information-for-all-patients

Dr Sam Finnikin’s article ‘We threw the guidelines at her’ can be found here; https://bjgplife.com/we-threw-the-guidelines-at-her/?s=08

Our new website is now live - www.theauralapothecary.com

‘Assume I know nothing’ - we are joined today by Dr Liz O’Riordan about the impact having the very condition she was trained to treat had on her, both as a patient and a doctor. Liz is a renowned author, international speaker and host of the fantastic podcast ‘Don’t Ignore the Elephant’ in which Liz talks about the stuff no one else will. As well as her experience of cancer, Liz discusses her experiences of sexism, she tells us what actually goes on in the operating room and what really annoys her about pharmacists.

Our micro-discussion continues our examination of the Sunday Times Article “The NHS is flatlining - here’s how to save it right now” by Health Editor Shaun Lintern. In it he proposes 10 ideas that he thinks might ‘save the NHS’ and so we ask our guests what they think. What will Liz’s idea be for inclusion in the ‘Aural Apothecary’s 2023 NHS Tonic?’As with all of our guests, Liz shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a life anthem and book that has influenced her career. This week's choice is guaranteed not to give you a headache…

The NHS Predict online tool to see how different treatments for early invasive breast cancer might improve survival rates after surgery can be found here: https://breast.predict.nhs.uk/


Our new website is now live www.the aural apothecary.com. and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Find out more about Dr Liz O’Riordan at her website here https://liz.oriordan.co.uk/.

The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to feel empowered and take control by Trisha Greenalgh and Liz O’Riordan; https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-complete-guide-to-breast-cancer-how-to-feel-empowered-and-take-control-professor-trisha-greenhalgh/434879?ean=9781785041877.

Pre-order Under the Knife - The Rise and Fall of a Female Surgeon https://unbound.com/books/under-the-knife/.

Podcast; Don’t Ignore the Elephant https://dontignoretheelephant.podbean.com/.

A truly joyful patient story this week when we chat to Louise Jenkins. Cystic Fibrosis is a condition that encompasses your whole life. Louise talks to us about growing up with the condition, balancing the constant need for treatment with trying to grow up normally. Louise describes being ill with CF as ‘like having a second job’, and tells us the transformative effect a change in drugs has had on her life. It is a miraculous story.

Our micro-discussion continues our examination of the Sunday Times Article “The NHS is flatlining - here’s how to save it right now” by Health Editor Shaun Lintern. In it he proposes 10 ideas that he thinks might ‘save the NHS’ and so we ask our guests what they think. As one of our younger guests what will Louise’s idea be for inclusion in the ‘Aural Apothecary’s 2023 NHS Tonic?’

As with all of our guests, Louise shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a life anthem and book that has influenced her life. This week's choice will bring a tear to your eye.

Our new website is now live www.the aural apothecary.com. and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Louise has started her own business in Cardiff as a Nail Technician. Please support her and find out more on her Instagram page @__nailsbylou.

Our new website is now live - www.theauralapothecary.com

A fantastic chat this week we talk to Paul Woodgate who as well as having Type II Diabetes and Parkinson’s disease is an advocate for patients in the design of healthcare services. We hear how this important role has evolved from being the oft ignored voice at the back of the room to being a central part of service design.

Our micro-discussion continues our examination of the Sunday Times Article “The NHS is flatlining - here’s how to save it right now” by Health Editor Shaun Lintern. In it he proposes 10 ideas that he thinks might ‘save the NHS’ and so we ask our guests what they think. Paul and Gimmo ‘disagree agreeably’…

As with all of our guests, Paul shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a life anthem and book that has influenced his life.

Our new website is now live www.the aural apothecary.com. and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think!

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com .

Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg
You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

How do we manage Chronic Pain? This week we talk to Louise Trewern of Living Well with Pain, who has herself lived with chronic pain since childhood. After years of strange illnesses, infections and persistent pain Louise was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and prescribed a stupor-inducing cocktail of opioids, antidepressants and benzodiazepines. We chat to Louise about how she discovered a different approach to self-management that she attributes to saving her life. It is a story that challenges widely held convictions about how pain is managed and the importance of treating a patient as a person and not a symptom.

We continue the development of our ‘NHS Tonic’ - the treatments our guests prescribe to cure our ailing NHS.

As with all of our guests, Louise shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a life anthem and book that has influenced her life.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here;

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=22afce0c369b4164

You can view the Aural ApothecaryLibrary here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Live well with Pain: https://livewellwithpain.co.uk/

Chronic Pain: Definitions and Diagnosis https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj-2023-076036

Louise on Twittter @loulouscorpio

Our new website is now live www.the aural apothecary.com. and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think!

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

A pivotal figure in the development of Evidence Based Practice and an inspiration to many, it was our real pleasure this week to chat to Professor Neal Maskrey. A retired GP and former director of the National Prescribing Centre, Neal has been a key figure in the way clinical evidence is presented and used in practice. He tells us about his new book, Rebalancing Medicine, where he shares his story and ideas for the future of medicine, including prescribing. We hear about the concept of ‘Time Needed to Treat’ alongside his role in the introduction of one of the truly game changing drugs to the UK.

“Time Needed to Treat” paper : https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj-2022-072953?ijkey=62fad3373b9e8067e3e1f1b5d4fee276d55b4331&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

Professor Don Berwick’s “3 Era ‘s of Medicine” paper : https://qi.elft.nhs.uk/resource/era-3-for-medicine-and-healthcare/

Neal adds the final ingredient to our ‘NHS Tonic’ - our guests’ cure for the NHS.. As with all of our guests, Neal shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a life anthem and book that has influenced his life. Neal brings his own unique twist to our much loved feature…

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think!

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Pull up a chair and join the Three Apothecaries around the fire for our end-of-year chat with friends and colleagues Clare Howard and Jonathan Underhill to discuss another dramatic year.What will 2023 be remembered for? Was it the Year of Community Pharmacy or of Artificial Intelligence? Who would win in a fight – ChatGPT or a clinical pharmacist? How should NICE determine Quality of Life? And what is it that Gimmo and Steve are drinking?!

2023 was also a year of loss. The team reflects on those who are no longer with us and the impact loss and experiencing end of life care has had both on us personally and professionally. We discuss how our special patient focussed series has had a profound impact on how we think about shared decision making.

We also share some exciting news – a show aimed at members of the public. Join us at the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff on Jan 20th for ‘The three apothecaries: Medicines, Music and Memories https://www.chapter.org/whats-on/the-three-apothecaries-medicines-music-and-memories-podcast-jamie-hayes.

You can read about our blog ‘Person-Centred Care: Lessons for Healthcare from the Aural Apothecary Podcast’ here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/person-centred-care-lessons-for-pharmacy-from-the-aural-apothecary-podcast-an-aural-apothecary/

Evaluating the performance of ChatGPT in clinical pharmacy: A comparative study of ChatGPT and clinical pharmacists https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bcp.15896

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think!To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com .

Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

For our first episode of series 6 we are delighted to be joined by former BBC reporter Rory Cellen-Jones. As well as a successful career in journalism, Rory is also part of “Movers and Shakers’ - the hit podcast about life with Parkinsons.

Rory was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2019 and has spent recent years investigating the role technology can play in improving the treatment of Parkinson's disease. We discuss the role medicines now play in his life, his experience of healthcare and the need to make Parkinson’s disease more visible with help for patients to navigate the system.

A key theme of Rory’s experience has been the impact of communication - both good and bad. In our micro-discussion we discuss the report by DEMOS “I love the NHS but… preventing needless harms caused by poor communication in the NHS” https://demos.co.uk/research/i-love-the-nhs-but-preventing-needless-harms-caused-by-poor-communications-in-the-nhs/ - a powerful exploration of the problems caused by poor communication and recommendations on how to solve it.

We also discuss Rory’s fantastic memoir ‘Ruskin Park - Sylvia, me and the BBC’ - http://litalist.com/book/9781914613432. Keep an ear out for the drug ‘Oblivon’ and its interesting instructions…

As with all of our guests, Rory shares with us a Desert Island Drug, a life anthem and book that has influenced his life. Rory’s choice comes with a lesson from Steve in Pharmacology…!

Rory’s fame of course is succeeded by his more famous pet - check out #sophiefromromania on Twitter to enjoy the story of a rescue dog from Romania.

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think!

You can find out more about the superb Movers and Shakers podcast here; it is superb and a must listen for anyone interested in the lived experience of people with a chronic condition. @moversand6 https://open.spotify.com/show/4dipKcMG0IocnGsdRmB2nJ

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

We are joined by Professor Bapu Jena. Physician, economist, author of ‘Random Acts of Medicine’ and host of the superb ‘Freakonomics MD’ podcast, we explore with Bapu the concept of ‘natural experimentation’. How might a marathon be bad for your health? Why might you be safer not seeing a cardiologist after a heart attack? What is the impact of striking doctors on health outcomes?

Bapu is Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School and a physician in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and so we discuss health economics, and the differences between US and UK healthcare. We also see a new interview style from Jamie as he poses some of his most challenging questions yet…

As with all of our guests, Bapu shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced his life. Bapu’s book choice proves challenging!

Read about Bapu here https://hcp.hms.harvard.edu/people/anupam-b-jena. Also check out the superb Freakonomics MD podcast https://freakonomics.com/series/bapu/ - it is one of Steve’s favourites.

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

A lively chat as we are joined by sexual health pharmacist Sally Kneath. Sally busts the myths that often surround people living with HIV and details how it is managed today - perhaps not how you would imagine. We reflect on the impact of the stigma caused by the 80’s ‘Don’t die of ignorance’ campaigns that still exists today and how we need to move toward seeing HIV alongside any other chronic condition.

Sally has also been instrumental in developing and promoting the use of naloxone and its role in saving hundreds, if not thousands, of people at risk of overdose from opiates. Watch her talk about it here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaOUCo1M2mk

In our micro-discussion we discuss HIV Care among Elderly Patients https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40266-022-01003-3

BONUS CONTENT: HIV Testing, PeP and PreP - Listen to Sally talk about the importance of HIV testing and reducing the stigma attached. Find out about HIV preventative drugs and prophylaxis.

As with all of our guests, Sally shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her life. The drug may literally save your life!

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think!

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com. Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg
You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

How do you influence the prescribing habits of an entire country? This is the task of NHS England’s National Clinical Director of Prescribing Professor Tony Avery. We chat to Tony about this new, groundbreaking leadership role and techniques used to influence and improve prescribing practice across a whole nation. In addition to this role Tony is a practising GP, a professor of primary health care at the University of Nottingham and an NIHR Senior Investigator.

In 2012, Tony and his team developed ‘Pharmacist-led Information Technology Intervention for Medication Errors’ — or PINCER — project, which was rolled out nationally to general practices in England to tackle hazardous prescribing from 2018.

In our micro-discussion, we talk about the recent Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2023: health in an ageing society https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chief-medical-officers-annual-report-2023-health-in-an-ageing-society Professor Chris Whitty's report recommends actions to improve quality of life for older adults and prioritise areas with the fastest growth in older people. We discuss the concept of ‘Lifespan vs Healthspan’ and what that means for prescribing in an increasingly specialist medical model .

As with all of our guests, Tony shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced his life. Be prepared for an Aural Apothecary first as Tony surprises us with his choice of song…

Join us for our next live show in Bordeaux for the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists Congress! https://www.eahp.eu/congresses/programme

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think!

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/.

To get in touch follow us on Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here; https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

It takes a special sort of person to work in paediatric care. We chat to Alison Tennant, Chief Pharmacist at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust about the risks and rewards of working with children and their medicines. Parents going home with bags of bottles, the difficulties of shared decision making and instead of DNA we have DNB - Did not Bring. A joyous and fascinating episode where we delve into the art and practice of prescribing in children.

In our micro discussion we discuss the excellent paper “Why learning how to swallow pills is good for patients, parents, and the planet” in which we learn about the importance of teaching children how to swallow tablets. Both as a lifeskill and as a measure to support sustainability. “If you can swallow Lego you can swallow a tablet!” https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj-2023-076257

Video: Kidzmedz Project: Teaching Children to Swallow Tablets: https://youtu.be/XwiuU-k2FIM?si=pXmEULvikHBA4Ftt
As with all of our guests, Alison shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced his life. Alison’s choice is as unique as you might expect!

Bonus Content! Pharmacogenomics in Children- Listen to Alison talk about her favourite subject regarding pharmacogenomics in mental health youngsters,  and how it helps the shared decision making process in deciding which medicines to use https://www.theauralapothecary.com/p/bonus-material/

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! 

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/. 

To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com .

Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Did you know that according to the OECD, a fifth of healthcare costs adds no value to patient care? This, along with the drive for shared decision making is the drive behind Scotland’s ‘Realistic Medicine’ campaign. We chat to Dr Catherine Labinjoh, Consultant Cardiologist and National Clinical Advisor to the Realistic Medicine programme about the campaign.

One of the main aims of Realistic Medicine is for people using healthcare services and their families to feel empowered to discuss their treatment fully with healthcare professionals, including the possibility that a suggested treatment might come with side effects – or even negative outcomes. Everyone should feel able to ask their healthcare professional why they’ve suggested a test, treatment or procedure, and all decisions about a person’s care should be made jointly between the individual and their healthcare team. This is a theme we have covered often on the podcast and so we explore with Catherine what this means for how healthcare is being delivered in Scotland.

In our micro-discussion, we talk about a recent article in the New Statesman “I can’t find a diagnosis for Ted – but he can diagnose modern medicine”. Ted explains how ““Everything’s decided on thousands of people…. that can’t possibly tell you what to do for any individual.” https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2024/03/i-cant-find-a-diagnosis-for-ted-but-he-can-diagnose-modern-medicine In tandem we discuss a recent BMJ Quality & Safety about the coordination of care for patients with heart failure.  https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/33/4/232?ijkey=d1d5807c3fd3a9dff0a2cb225570adea3a3bc139&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha In a truly memorable conversation, we also pick up on the role of a ‘single-organologist’ versus a generalist – “the patient is more than the organ of your choice…” We seek out that “elusive unicorn, the time rich specialist generalist!” 

As with all of our guests, Catherine shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her life.

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! 

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/. 

To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

We chat to Physiotherapist and Consultant Practitioner, Esther Clift about her pioneering role in the management of frailty. A varied career, where a passion for working with older people was ignited in Southampton, where she undertook an MSc in Gerontology. She currently leads an Acute Frailty Service on the Isle of Wight. 

What is frailty and how can the multi-disciplinary team support it? We chat to Esther about helping older people to live better lives, the risks of decompensation and the importance of goal-setting with patients. We hear how the Isle of Wight, as a ‘petri-dish’ of frailty is the ideal place to pioneer this new role.

We continue the theme of frailty in our micro-discussion when we review the document ‘Joining the Dots: A Blueprint for Preventing and Managing Frailty in Older People’ from the British Geriatrics Society Joining the Dots: A blueprint for preventing and managing frailty in older people | British Geriatrics Society (bgs.org.uk). Is what we need a national frailty service - or indeed, a National Care Service…?

Bonus Content! We chat to Esther about the challenges, benefits and controversies over advanced practitioner roles. https://www.theauralapothecary.com/p/bonus-material/.

Also, check out STC chat about his career and more medicines stories on the recent Pharmacist Diaries podcast.  https://www.pharmacistdiaries.com/podcast/140

As with all of our guests, Esther shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her career or life.

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! 

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/. To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Do Doctors know best? How do you explain the risks and benefits of a medicine when you yourself don’t really know? We chat to Maricarmen Climént, Research and Editorial Officer at Sense about Science about risk communication and how we best help patients to make better choices in the face of uncertainty?

Maricarmen has a diverse background in science journalism and risk communication and holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine and an MSc in Science Communication. She also worked for four years at the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge, which we discuss. Do clinicians, deep down, think they know best? How can you teach risk to those whose career is predicated on supposedly knowing everything? How do you explain complexity in a simple way when the reality is rarely simple?

Things are never certain and we discuss how clinicians can best navigate this difficult terrain and the importance of training in understanding and explaining risk. Dr Julian Treadwell’s research we mention - " GPs’ knowledge of the absolute benefits and harms of treatments is poor, with inaccuracies of a magnitude likely to meaningfully affect clinical decision-making and impede conversations with patients regarding treatment choices" https://bjgpopen.org/content/4/1/bjgpopen20X101016

In our micro-discussion we delve into the paper “Bad news: how the media reported on an observational study about cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19”. Are the media deliberately biased - or just incompetent - in how they report on scientific research? And how much are the papers’ authors themselves to blame? https://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2024/04/17/bmjebm-2023-112814. 

As with all of our guests, Maricarmen shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her career or life.

Sense about Science: https://senseaboutscience.org/. 

Spurious Correlations: http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations. 

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! 

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/. 

To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Pain in the eye? It is a red-flag all healthcare professionals are trained to be aware of. But when spotted, who deals with it? We are joined by Specialist Head and Neck Pharmacist Ann Marie Goacher. Ann Marie describes her journey from a local community pharmacist in Ireland to being the lead pharmacist for the head and neck directorate at University Hospitals Sussex. What does an ophthalmic and specialist uveitis pharmacist do?

We talk to Ann Marie about her passion for eye care, and the importance of getting back to basics with the simple act of administration. Glaucoma can be better managed simply by ‘knowing your drops’ yet it is a neglected area of care. We discuss how off-licence use of drugs for a common eye condition has saved the NHS millions and the controversies that surround this.

For our micro-discussion we look at The burden of acute eye conditions on different healthcare providers: a retrospective population-based study,  a paper that looks at the public awareness of community eyecare services in a world where the demand for acute eyecare exponentially outstrips capacity. https://bjgp.org/content/74/741/e264

Further information on the ‘Know your Drops’ campaign can be found on the website of Moorfields Eye Hospital https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/for-patients/information-hub. 

Ann Marie was spotted as a guest for the podcast after having the misfortune to sit next to Jamie on a plane. The topic of the conversation was the book she was reading - which happened to be written by her Father. “Once there was a boy who survived” by Maurice Heffernan which tells the story his early days in an orphanage in Ireland to his tumultuous journey through foster care, institutionalisation, and forced labour https://www.amazon.co.uk/Once-There-was-Boy-Survived/dp/1915502667. 

The “statistics made simple and relevant” podcasts with James McCormack mentioned in the episode can be found here https://therapeuticseducation.org/podcast-episode-list/

As with all of our guests, Ann Marie shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her career or life. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! 

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/. 

To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

Join us for the last episode of series six and a joyful exploration of the importance and reality of person centred care. 

For five years Tommy Whitelaw was a full-time carer for his late mother Joan who had Vascular Dementia. In 2011 he undertook a walk around Scotland’s towns and cities to collect hundreds of life stories and letters detailing the experiences of individuals who care for a loved one living with dementia. It was a journey that taught him the importance of gentle honesty, that Civility really does Saves Lives and that listening really is the best drug available. 

We find out how an intervention by his local community pharmacist ‘gave him his Mum back’.  We discuss the concept of ‘intelligent kindness’ and how the impact of being busy affects our ability to care. ‘When we are busy we do less of the beautiful stuff first…’

We delve deeper into the topic of Intelligent Kindness when we discus Effecting Change - Evidencing Culture Change in Compassionate Care https://www.alliance-scotland.org.uk/blog/news/effecting-change-evidencing-culture-change-on-person-centred-care/

Tommy highlights the importance of music for people with dementia (and those caring for them). Check out Playlist for Life, a music and dementia charity. The charity was founded in 2013 by writer and broadcaster Sally Magnusson after the death of her mother, Mamie, who had dementia. Their vision is simple: For everyone with dementia to have a unique, personalised playlist, and everyone who loves or cares for them to know how to use it. https://www.playlistforlife.org.uk/

As with all of our guests, Tommy shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced his career or life.

Tommy works for Person Centred Voices, an ALLIANCE project that works to promote person centred practices in public sector organisations in Scotland; that is, to advocate for personalisation, empowerment and shared decision making across all areas of care and support. He has also had a fantastic career on the road as a tour manager for many of the Worlds best known bands. This has inspired him to hold a bi-annual ‘Concert for Carer’s’. Find out more here; https://linktr.ee/personcentred

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! 

To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

Welcome back to The Aural Apothecary! For our first episode we bring you an exciting new format, where we’ll be diving deeper into some of the recurring themes from our first six series. The Aural Apothecary Analyses!

In this episode, we focus on statins and the importance of shared decision making in healthcare. Inspired by a recent paper in the BMJ by Sam and Brian et al, we explore their argument that guidelines should move away from population-level risk thresholds and focus more on individualised risk and patient preferences.

But how does this work in practice? We’ll explore the challenges faced by busy healthcare professionals when trying to balance shared decision making with the realities of daily practice. And, perhaps most importantly, we’ll ask: do patients actually want shared decision making?

Dr Sam Finnikin is an academic GP with an interest in shared decision making. Brian Finney is an active patient representative.

Links to some of the articles discussed:
Statins, Risk and Personalised Care BMJ article https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj-2023-076774
Lipid Lowering to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease Clinician Decision Aid https://gpevidence.org/conditions/lipids/
PEER Simplified Cardiovascular Decision Aid from Canada https://decisionaid.ca/cvd/
Disutility of Statins: Patient-Accessible Tool for Shared Decision Making in Cardiovascular Primary Prevention https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circulationaha.113.007595  

As with all of our guests, Sam and Brian share with us their Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced their careers or life. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?
publicId=KN6E3O

Our website is https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ 

To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

This week, when we return to our normal format we are joined by Community Pharmacist Dr Berwyn Owen. Berwyn is a pharmacy proprietor and prescriber in North Wales. Formerly a Chief Pharmacist and a member of the General Pharmaceutical Council he is well placed to discuss what the future of medicines management looks like through the lens of community pharmacy. 

Drawing on his wide ranging experience which includes stints in pharmaceutical research and as Programme Director for the Medicines Management programme for the NHS, we explore how the NHS is going to cope with the growing burden of chronic disease, and how pharmacies at the heart of communities could develop to provide so much more care.

This is a joyous meander through Berwyn's career and his own plans for the creation of a healthcare hub at the heart of his village in Penygroes. “You’ve lifted this town” is how one of his patients described the effect the developments are having.

Steve is away this week and so we are joined by the Fourth Apothecary, Clare Howard. As a basis for our discussion we reference the recent report by the Bevan Commission ‘The Future Foundations for the future of healthcare’ https://bevancommission.org/the-future-foundations-for-the-future-model-of-health-and-care-in-wales/ as well as the current pharmacy strategy in Wales ‘Pharmacy: Delivering a Healthier Wales’ https://www.rpharms.com/wales/pharmacy-delivering-a-healthier-wales. 

As with all of our guests, Berwyn shares with us his Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced their career or life. 

Dr Berwyn Owen - Biography Berwyn Owen is the former Chief Pharmacist at Betsi Cadwaladr University HealthBoard, North Wales. He is also a former Council Member at the General Pharmaceutical Council, the UK independent regulator for pharmacy. He was a member of the UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership and chaired the sub-group on education and training and is an Independent Expert Member on the UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory Board.

Since retiring from the Health Board he has recently become a pharmacy proprietor and is a practicing prescribing pharmacist at Penygroes and the Nantlle Valley near Caernarfon. He is a regular contributor to Pharmacy Management and presented nationally on pharmacy leadership. He commenced his career in pharmaceuticals as a research assistant with Beecham Pharmaceuticals at Worthing in 1986. Studied pharmacy at Brighton University followed by a PhD on Orphan Disease at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland University. He was appointed Honorary Senior Lecturer with the School of Medical Sciences at Bangor University which is progressing to become the third School of Pharmacy in Wales. He has published on orphan disease and more recently on bilingualism within healthcare.

He is the past Programme Director for the Medicines Management Programme for NHS Wales and Welsh Assembly Government which led the agenda to reduce harm, waste and variation with medicines across Wales. He is also past chair of the Welsh Pharmaceutical Committee, was a member of the Ministerial Pharmacy Strategic Delivery Group and led on Medicines Management for the Chronic Conditions Framework Demonstrators. He is a member of the Llanrug Silver Band, the oldest band in Wales, and governor of the local primary school and a member of Clwb Mynydda Cymru. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;   https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Our website is https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ 

To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

Freedom from Command and Control was the very first book choice on the Aural Apothecary and its themes of failure demand, systems thinking and value have featured heavily on the show ever since. It is a real pleasure therefore this week to welcome its author, John Seddon. 

John Seddon is an occupational psychologist and author, specialising in the service industry. He is the managing director of Vanguard the inventor of 'The Vanguard Method', the means by which his organisation helps service leaders transform their organisations from conventional command-and-control designs to systems designs, achieving remarkable results. Seddon’s prominence grew following attacks on conventional management thinking, sometimes referred to as New Public Management, including: the belief in economies of scale, quality standards and much of public sector reform including 'deliverology', the use of targets, inspection and centralised control of local services. The Daily Telegraph described him as a "reluctant management guru".

As expected, our conversation with John was thought provoking and challenging. John does not hold back in his analysis of the current state of healthcare in the UK and the often failed attempts to fix it. How do we fix our broken medicines management systems? How much do our attempts to fix things actually make things worse? What can we do to ‘unlearn’ what we think we know in order to understand the system from the patient's perspective? Can we really save the NHS in 10 weeks…?

In our micro-discussion we discuss Operational failures in general practice: a consensus-building study on the priorities for improvement (https://bjgp.org/content/74/742/e339). The discussion offers Paul and Jamie the opportunity to reflect on their own attempt to apply systems thinking to a GP practice in South Wales. As with all of our guests, John shares with us (albeit reluctantly!) his Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced their career or life. 

Can this method reduce costs by 75% ? Here is the video referenced by Gimmo and John that highlights a real-life example of the systems approach in action https://vimeo.com/943283319. 

John has recently published a Manifesto on Re-Thinking Regulation https://beyondcommandandcontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Manifesto_bk.pdf which promises to improve public sector productivity and morale. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;   https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Our website is https://www.theauralapothecary.com/  To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com .

Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

Welcome to the second in our series of ‘The Aural Apothecary Analyses’, where we will be delving a bit deeper into some of the recurring themes from our first series. This week we are joined by Dr Matthew Jones and Angela Carrinton to discuss medicines safety and how we can help clinicians & patients make better decisions. 

Healthcare professionals rely on guidelines to help them make the right choices. But do they work? Is the way we write and use guidance in practice actually harming patients? And what can we do about it? Join us as we discuss the balance between prescriptive guidance and the flexibility required to navigate complex systems, all while considering the critical role guidelines play in providing assurance and safety in healthcare.

Angela will be well known to regular listeners, featuring as a guest in series 1. She is Lead Pharmacist for Medication Safety, Health and Social Care Northern Ireland and a Human Factors enthusiast. Mathew is a senior lecturer in medicines safety, medicines information and pharmaceutics at the University of Bath. He has coordinated the development of the South West Pharmacy Research Network and is the co-author of our discussion paper today - “Exploring the Role of Guidelines in Contributing to Medication Errors” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10954937/ 

In our discussion we dig into the role of guidelines and their real-world impact on patient care. From the pitfalls of laminating to the importance of user-testing, we explore how the design and writing of guidance can influence outcomes - sometimes with unintended consequences. Do digital systems actually make things better? Are guidelines themselves contributing to errors? And how can human factors expertise improve how clinicians interact with these tools in practice?

As well as getting deep into the issue of medicines safety we also ask the important question - why on earth would anyone put mouthwash in a public toilet? Tune in to find out more on this important topic…

As with all of our guests, Matthew shares with us his Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced his career or life. 

Angela has already shared her choices in a previous episode which you can find our more about here where we discuss Medicines Safety in more detail and the World Health Organisations ‘Medicines Safety Challenge’  https://www.theauralapothecary.com/episode-9-angela-carrington-the-world-health-organisations-medicines-safety-challenge/

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  
https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Our website is https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ 

To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . You can now also follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/auralapothecary/) and BlueSKy @auralapothecary.pharmsky.app) 

Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you get this podcast. 

Pull up a chair and join the Three Apothecaries around the fire as we wrap up the year with a lively chat featuring friends and colleagues Clare Howard and Jonathan Underhill. Together, we reflect on an exciting and dramatic year in the ever-changing world of healthcare and medicines.

From groundbreaking developments like weight-loss drugs and debates around assisted dying to critical issues such as polypharmacy and exploring new career paths, we dive into the stories that shaped 2024—and how they’ve impacted us personally and professionally.On a lighter note, What does the weight of the British National Formulary reveal about the history of medicines? What drink smells like a pharmacy? And how measuring Prostate Specific Antigen can be fun!

For this episode’s micro discussion, we travel back 60 years to explore the 1964 classic, "Patient's View of Admission to a London Teaching Hospital." This fascinating study sheds light on how patient experiences have evolved—and in some cases, stayed the same—over the decades. (Read the paper)

This year has been one for the record books, with the Three Apothecaries travelling to Bordeaux and performing for a sell-out audience in Cardiff. We’re so grateful to our incredible guests and loyal listeners for making it another unforgettable year of stories, conversations, and medicines-related fun.Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Check out our website www.theauralapothecary.com  for a searchable database of all episodes, blogs and bonus content for your enjoyment and education.To get in touch and interact follow us on Blue Sky @auralapothecary.pharmsky.app , Twitter @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

What is Deprescribing? Why is it so important? And the big question... who invented it?! We present a masterclass in deprescribing from pharmacist Dr Emily Reeve from Monash University in Australia who is also Chair of the Australian Deprescribing Network.

The need to review, reduce or stop medicines has been a regular topic of conversation here on the Aural Apothecary. But how do we do it? Deprescribing should be an integral component of appropriate prescribing and is defined as the systematic process of dose reduction or discontinuing a medicine under the supervision of a healthcare professional. We chat to Emily about the difficulties faced, advancements in practice and her research into the topic. What help is available for prescribers? Do patients actually want their medicines stopped? And who is the world leader in Deprescribing...?

There is no one better with whom to discuss this topic. Dr Emily Reeve, as well as being Chair of the Australian Deprescribing Network, is a Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Theme Lead for the Centre for Medicines Use and Safety, in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University in Australia.

Should information on how to stop a drug feature in guidance on how to start it? In our micro-discussion we delve deeper into the guidance available for prescribers when we look at one of Emily’s papers 'What do clinical practice guidelines say about deprescribing' https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/34/1/28  

As with all of our guests, Emily shares with us her Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her career or life. We learn that it is hard to dance with the devil on your back.

Want to get your papers published? Jamie mentioned the site https://gettingpaperspublished.com/

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here;
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQw Pyz1KBg

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;
https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Our website is https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ 
       
To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.

What is a Clinical Pharmacologist? Who better to tell us than Professor Lauren Walker, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Honorary Consultant in General Internal Medicine at Liverpool University. 

Lauren is a leading researcher in multimorbidity and AI-driven healthcare and plays a key role in early-phase clinical trials. We chat about her role in ‘First in Human’ trials - what are they, what are the risks and why are they so important? And how does this work reach across to her clinical role which focuses on multimorbidity and polypharmacy. We discuss the role that AI may play in predicting polypharmacy and the development of DynAIRx - an Artificial Intelligence being designed to support medicines optimisation on multimorbid patients. It's a Robotic version of Steve the Chemist!

Our micro-discussion continues with the theme of clinical trials. How can we ensure they are representative of the populations they are supposed to be treating. Is it ever ethical to test new drugs on elderly and frail patients? ‘The current status of inclusion of older groups in evaluations of new medications: Gaps and implementation needs to fill them' https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38600697/

As with all of our guests, Lauren shares with us her Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her career or life. Fans of pharmacology will not be disappointed. 
Check out Lauren's impressive full bio here, with further details of all of her research: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/people/lauren-walker

This week we also discuss Steve’s impressive TV debut where he describes the role of a Clinical Pharmacist to none other than Professor Green on BBC Morning Live. This is a must watch for anyone who wants to understand this role and the impact of polypharmacy. A new career beckons… You can watch it here: https://www.rpharms.com/about-us/news/details/polypharmacy-featured-on-bbcs-morning-live. 

Our website is https://www.theauralapothecary.com/

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O  

To get in touch follow us on Bluesky and X @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

In this special episode we ‘Dive in at the Deep End’ and examine in-depth the Inverse Care Law. What is it, why does it matter to medicines optimisation - and what can we do about it?

The Inverse Care Law is a term first defined by the Welsh GP Dr Julian Tudor Hart over 50 years to describe how, perversely, people who most need health care are the least likely to get it. A law that sadly is as true now as it was then. Will we finally get to hear about the day Jamie met Julian Tudor Hart…?

To help us in our discussion we are re-joined by AA Alumni Dr Karen Sankey alongside Dr Beth Winn. Regular listeners will remember Karen from series 2,  a GP who specialises in Health Inclusion and trauma based coaching. Karen is passionate about tackling social justice and health inequalities and we find out what has been happening since we spoke to her last. Dr Beth Winn is a GP working at Charlotte Keel Medical Practice, one of the largest and most deprived practices in Bristol. Like Karen, she is passionate about improving equity in healthcare and has worked with marginalised patient groups in India, Malawi, New Zealand and South Africa.

Charlotte Keel Medical Practice is part of the GPs at the Deep End initiative which strives to reduce health inequalities through providing peer support, advocacy, training and research opportunities to primary care clinicians working in disadvantaged areas. We delve into the experiences of staff working at the deep end supported by the following article from the British Journal of General Practice https://bjgp.org/content/74/749/e797. 

To support our discussion we look at The Health Foundation Paper ‘Tackling the Inverse Care Law’ https://www.health.org.uk/reports-and-analysis/reports/tackling-the-inverse-care-law.

The original article penned by the great man himself in The Lancet can be read here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(71)92410-X/fulltext  

As with all of our guests, Beth shares with us her Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her career or life. Is the choice a drug? You can decide, but it is a game-changer for Women’s health. 

The Apothecaries are on the road again! Come and see our next live show at the Clinical Pharmacy Congress on the 10th May in London. Book your tickets and find out more here: https://www.pharmacycongress.co.uk/london 

Don’t forget to check out Steve’s impressive TV debut where he describes the role of a Clinical Pharmacist to none other than Professor Green on BBC Morning Live. This is a must watch for anyone who wants to understand this role and the impact of polypharmacy. A new career beckons… You can watch it here: https://www.rpharms.com/about-us/news/details/polypharmacy-featured-on-bbcs-morning-live. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;   https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O

Our website is https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ 

To get in touch follow us on Bluesky and X @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

This episode we are joined by Dr Margaret McCartney a practising General Practitioner and a Senior Clinical Lecturer in General Practice at the University of St Andrews. Margaret is a vocal advocate for Evidence Based Medicine and regular journal / newspaper columnist and contributor to the BBC Radio 4 programme Inside Health.

Does accepting money for a view affect a healthcare professional’s ability to make unbiased decisions in the patient’s interest? Should those with a conflict of interest be barred from producing guidelines or providing education? Should it be allowed at all? A controversial issue and an edgy conversation you will not want to miss! 

For our micro-discussion we get into the equally controversial subject of Weight-Loss jabs. A useful public health intervention or patient safety crisis in the making? We pick up on a recent episode of the BBC Radio 4 Programme Inside Health (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jsly) that examines the impact on the NHS of allowing  widespread prescribing of  the new weight-loss drugs. 

Links mentioned in the episode:

Financial Conflicts of Interest and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2016 Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2598092#ild160076r5

Listen to Margaret talk about , and change other Doctors’ minds about Conflicts of Interest on the BMJ podcast: https://thebmjpodcast.podbean.com/e/taking-on-the-van-tullekens-how-margaret-mccartney-changed-their-minds-about-cois/

As with all of our guests, Margaret shares with us her Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her career or life. Her drug will almost certainly have an effect on you…!

The Apothecaries are on the road again! Come and see our next live show at the Clinical Pharmacy Congress on the 10th May in London. Book your tickets and find out more here: https://www.pharmacycongress.co.uk/london   

Don’t forget to check out Steve’s impressive TV debut where he describes the role of a Clinical Pharmacist to none other than Professor Green on BBC Morning Live. This is a must watch for anyone who wants to understand this role and the impact of polypharmacy. A new career beckons… You can watch it here: https://www.rpharms.com/about-us/news/details/polypharmacy-featured-on-bbcs-morning-live. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;   https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O Our website is https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ 

To get in touch follow us on Bluesky and X @auralapothecary or email us at auralapothecarypod@gmail.com . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from.