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  • About pharmacy and medicines policy

    Topics:
    • Pharmacy, 
    • Pharmacy and medicines policy

    The pharmacy and medicines policy group are responsible for providing specialist advice on medicines and pharmaceutical issues to the minister, department and wider health service and for the development of policy relating to medicines optimisation and pharmacy.

    Leading on policy relating to pharmacy and medicines

    Cathy Harrison, Senior Principal Pharmaceutical Officer leads the policy group which is responsible for providing specialist professional advice to, the minister, department and wider HSC on all matters relating to medicines and their use.

    • Contact Medicines and Policy Group

    These include:

    • a refreshed strategy for community pharmacy - Making it better through Pharmacy in the Community
    • ​Medicines Optimisation Quality Framework
    • Medicines management
    • strategies for community and hospital pharmacy
    • pharmaceutical public health
    • Prescribing by Non-Medical Healthcare Professionals
    • the Pharmaceutical Clinical Effectiveness Programme

    Providing professional advice and input into wider Department policy and business areas

    • Antimicrobial Resistance Action Committee (ARAC)
    • 10 Year Quality Strategy for health and social care
    • service frameworks
    • Living with Long Term Conditions
    • Promoting Good Nutrition Strategy
    • 10 Year Tobacco Control Strategy
    • Use and Control of Medicines

    Other responsibilities

    • The National Appeal Panel
    • NI Drug Tariff

    Advice on a career in pharmacy

    There are a number of careers in pharmacy, including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and medicines counter assistants. Find out what skills you need for each position.

    • Advice on a career in pharmacy from nidirect

    Pharmacists are experts in medicines and their use. Most pharmacists practice in either community pharmacies or hospital settings.

    • Pharmacy in practice

    Research and development

    The HSC Research and Development division of the Public Health Agency works to promote, coordinate and support R&D within all fields of health and social care in Northern Ireland including Pharmacy.

    The research supported provides high quality evidence to improve care for patients, clients and the general population and enhances understanding of the factors which influence health, disease, treatment and care.

    Funding

    HSC R&D funding is directed by the current strategy Research for Health and Wellbeing which is built around five strategic goals.

    Pharmacy research has been supported through a number of areas outlined in this strategy.

    This has included the commissioning of research to support policy developments in areas such as Antimicrobial Resistance and in Pharmacist Prescribing.

    HSC R&D provided initial funding to assist in the set-up of the Pharmacy Academic Practice Research Unit between the School of Pharmacy (Queens University, Belfast) and the Northern HSC Trust.

    A number of pharmacists in Northern Ireland have been awarded funding to allow them to undertake PhDs under the Doctoral Fellowship Scheme.

    A key strategic goal for HSC R&D is to ensure that there is an enabling infrastructure for research within the HSC. As such, the division has provided funding to each of the 5 HSC Trusts in order to enable them to develop a clinical trials pharmacy service.

    Drug alerts

    Drug alerts are issued by DoH when a fault or defect is detected or a medicine has been recalled by suppliers.

    • Drug Alerts - 2023
    • Drug Alerts - 2022
    • Drug alerts - 2021
    • Drug alerts - 2020
    • Drug alerts - 2019
    • Drug alerts - 2018
    • Drug alerts - 2017
    • Drug alerts 2016
    • Drug alerts 2015

    Patient Safety alerts

    Patient Safety Alerts are issued by DoH when there is a potential risk to a patient.

    • Patient Safety Alerts

    Useful Links

    • Drug Tariff
    • Pharmacists statistics

    Related content

    • Antimicrobial Resistance Action Committee
    • Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer
    • Correspondence from the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Northern Ireland
    • Medicines management
    • Medicines Optimisation
    • Medicines Safety
    • National Appeal Panel
    • Pharmaceutical public health
    • Pharmacy in Practice
    • Prescribing by Non-Medical Healthcare Professionals
    • Responsible pharmacist regulations and rebalancing project
    • The Pharmaceutical Clinical Effectiveness Programme
    • UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership
    • Use and control of medicines
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