A pharmacist has celebrated his 40-year work anniversary at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT).
Brian Rayner, senior medicines information pharmacist, joined the PAHT pharmacy department in August 1984 as a pre-registration pharmacist and after completing 12 months of training, he was appointed as a basic grade pharmacist.
During this time, Brian worked in the pharmacy dispensary, preparing prescription medications for patients, on the inpatient wards as a clinical pharmacist, in aseptic services preparing injectable medicines in a sterile environment and in quality control, ensuring medicine products were fit for their intended use.
In July 1989, Brian was appointed to the role of medicines information pharmacist, to provide evidence-based information and advice to ensure the safe and appropriate use of medicines, which he has been proudly doing ever since.
Reflecting on his 40 years of service, Brian said: “I have witnessed a number of changes not least a vast expansion of the hospital in terms of the range of services provided, but the local population has expanded tremendously and we are treating many more patients than we did back in 1984.
“I have also seen changes in organisational structure and ways of working too. In 2004, the automated dispensing device (dispensing robot) was installed in the pharmacy dispensary and in 2017/2018, we moved over from paper prescriptions to electronic prescribing, using computer-based generation, transmission and filling of a medical prescription. I have seen many personnel come and go and despite all of these changes what has remained constant throughout is the teamwork, professionalism and outstanding commitment from our people, who strive to provide high quality care and experiences for our patients and the local community.
“I have been very fortunate in being given the opportunity to not only provide medicines information at PAHT but also to improve and expand on the service provided. Information technology has improved beyond all recognition in the last 40 years and medicines information has embraced these changes to provide a timely efficient service in its response to enquiries from all healthcare professionals and patients too. There is a lot more pharmaceutical and healthcare information available now in comparison to when I started working here, but what has not changed is the need to use knowledge and experience to interpret and evaluate this information in order to provide professional advice and opinion.
“I thoroughly enjoy working at PAHT because of the teamwork, mutual respect and support for each other and the friendly atmosphere amongst staff both within and outside pharmacy. To be regularly approached to provide medicines information and advice is challenging in terms of interpretation, searching out the resources for the latest information and providing a response within a deadline, but at the same time is extremely rewarding in knowing that I have contributed in some way, no matter how big or small, in improving the health of patients within the hospital.
“There have been many standout moments for me since I started working at PAHT but what I value the most is the respect shown towards me, the reputation that the medicines information department has built up over the years and the gratitude and thanks I have received.”
John Biddulph, chief pharmacist at PAHT, said: “Brian has provided exceptional services to the pharmacy department over the last 40 years.
“It is a privilege to work alongside Brian – we all admire his dedication to pharmacy services and the extensive knowledge, passion and experience he provides to support us in driving forward continual service improvements. Congratulations and thank you for all that you do.”