SINCE covid hit, Dr Kershaw’s like so many organisations had to adapt their usual practices to support the community, and with an increased number of people being cared for in their own homes, one focus has been on prescribing medication directly to patients.

Dr Matthias Hohmann, the hospice’s medical director said: “Previously prescriptions would have to be issued by a GP and could take longer, as a result we took steps to become a community prescribing organisation; enabling us to issue prescriptions remotely, and direct to the patient’s pharmacy, providing vital medication quickly. Since launching, patients have been benefitting from the speed and ease of accessing their medication. One example was a patient who required medication on a bank holiday, the speed of the new system meant that the patient’s family could collect the medication just half an hour after it had been prescribed from their local pharmacy.”

With Dr Kershaw’s innovative electronic prescribing system making a huge difference to patients, the hospice shared their results with the Greater Manchester Hospices Group to see if other local hospices were interested in the same opportunity. GMHG submitted a funding bid to NHS England to support implementing this initiative and the group were successful, receiving £50,000 in funding.

Dr Hohmann added: “This new initiative is a vital step forward in patient care, and we are delighted to be able to share our experiences to support other hospices. This is a great example of how the GMHG works together, we couldn’t have accessed the funds individually but working together enables us to access more opportunities.”