Evelina London pharmacy team win ‘team of the year’ award

Evelina London's pharmacy team has won the 'Pharmacist Team of the Year Award' from the global pharmaceutical company, Clinigen, beating 100 entries from 23 countries.

The over 40 staff strong team works across Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital, St Thomas' Hospital and children's community services across Lambeth and Southwark. The team ensures medicines are prescribed and administered safely and effectively to patients as part of their compassionate, patient and family-centred approach to care.

Sian Gaze, lead pharmacist for the children's medicine and neonatology at Evelina London, nominated the team for the award. She said: "I am immensely proud of the team we have here at Evelina London and I wanted to find a way to celebrate them for all they do.

"We are able to offer safe, respectful care to our patients because the team blends clinical skill with empathy for patients, families and one another. We value and respect each other, and this helps us to better care for our patients, who are our number one priority."

The pharmacy team at Evelina London are crucial members of the multidisciplinary team, working with other healthcare professionals to provide comprehensive patient care.

Members of the team participate in ward rounds, monitor and optimise medications, and support patients transitioning to adult care. Some of the team also run clinics for patients living with specific conditions including sickle cell disease, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease and cystic fibrosis.

The team keep patients at the heart of what they do and recognise that children have different needs to adults when it comes to their medicines. With this in mind, they have introduced the 'Pill School' scheme which helps children swap liquid medication for tablets and capsules.

Swapping liquid medication to tablets and capsules has many benefits. They are easier to transport and store, and reduce the risk of dosage error. For children, they no longer have to take liquid medicines which may taste bad, therefore making medicines safer and easier for them to take.

Nanna Christiansen, chief paediatric pharmacist at Evelina London, said: "As a team, we are committed to continuous improvement and encourage our staff to keep pace with advancing technology and best practices. We also work to constantly apply quality improvement initiatives, to improve pathways, workflow and staff wellbeing.

"Emotional resilience is vital in a setting that can be emotionally taxing. We have introduced a 'Good Gossip' session in our weekly team meetings where we celebrate everyone’s hard work and give shout outs to people who go the extra mile. Small things like this go a long way to help people feel valued at work and proud of what they do.

"It is fantastic news that everyone working in the Evelina London pharmacy team is being recognised with this award. I want to personally congratulate all of the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians for this wonderful achievement."