Realising potential and addressing risk: a UK survey of adult hepatology pharmacy services.

Abstract

Objective: The pharmacy workforce in areas such as critical care and renal services has been well described, but little is known about the UK hepatology pharmacy workforce, service provision and capability. Our objective was to understand the current workforce in terms of staffing levels, skill mix, roles and risks.

Method: We conducted a multicentre, cross-sectional electronic survey inviting one pharmacy professional response per UK centre providing hepatology pharmacy services. We collated information on workforce, service provision and pharmaceutical care activities provided by pharmacy teams in hepatology specialities.

Results: Seventeen centres responded to this survey, which was composed of five (29%) district general hospitals, two (12%) providing both secondary and tertiary level hepatology services, three (18%) secondary care centres and seven (41%) centres providing tertiary level care. There are a greater number of posts in tertiary level care centres irrespective of inpatient beds covered. Consultant pharmacists were only present in tertiary level care centres. A large portion of pharmacy time is spent on indirect pharmaceutical care, which ranged from 10% to 50%. Overall, 75% of respondents felt that their team's workload was safe, though this was only 45% in district general hospitals.

Conclusion: Clinical hepatology pharmacy staffing levels vary across the UK. Recognition and benchmarking are key across all levels of care to ensure this workforce remains sustainable given the increasing incidence of liver disease in the UK.