The IAPC Palliative Care Pharmacy Group, formerly the Irish Palliative Care Pharmacy Group, is a professional network of pharmacists working in specialist palliative care services across Ireland, which joined the IAPC as an intact group in June 2010.

The Pharmacists’ Group supports the IAPC’s role as the expert and representative body responsible for shaping improvements in the provision of palliative care in Ireland, with a mission to promote palliative care through education, representation on national bodies and networking.

Purpose: The purpose of the Pharmacists’ Group is to strive for excellence in the pharmaceutical care provided by palliative care pharmacists so as to improve and enhance the care and quality of life of people with palliative care needs, and to advocate for and promote equality of access to such pharmaceutical care at end-of-life.

Role: The role of the IAPC Palliative Care Pharmacists’ Group is to develop and advance pharmacy practice in palliative care. It aims to represent the interests of palliative care pharmacy professionals at a national and at an all-island level.

Workplan:

National Journal Club; The group has established their own internal national journal club, which will fit in with compulsory Continuing Professional Development

HSE Palliative Care Programme Working Group; The group is represented at National Level with the HSE Programme Working Group and provides consultation to the work of the Programme as required, this includes consultation on the HSE Clinical Guidelines: (i) Pharmacological Management of Cancer Pain in Adults https://health.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Pharma-Mgmt-Cancer-Pain_web.pdf and (ii) Management of Constipation in Adult Palliative Care Patients https://health.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Mgmt-of-Constipation-Guideline.pdf

Development of Research; The group continually develops original research which has been presented nationally and internationally – A National Audit on the cost of medications in the community was undertaken over a 12 month period in 2014-2015 and subsequently was presented in poster publication at the EAPC Congress in Dublin in June 2016.

Development of a Community Pharmacists Group; This is a current project of the group and will see the establishment of a virtual group for community pharmacists in Ireland

Advocacy and Lobbying: The group is engaged in a number of initiatives including providing feedback and consultation in relation to the Primary Care Reimbursement Scheme, Access to Medicines in the Community, Medicine Shortage etc.

HSE Palliative Care Competence Framework: The group was heavily involved in the development of the Framework in relation to the section on Pharmacy Download

Video – The Role of the Pharmacist in Specialist Palliative Care 

Resources:

Palliative Meds Info Service – A service providing information for health professionals on all aspects of drug therapy used in palliative care. This service is based in the pharmacy department at Our Lady’s Hospice in Harold’s Cross and responds to enquiries received by telephone or email. In addition, they publish a regular newsletter and post medicines information on their webpage – https://olh.ie/our-services/palliative-care/palliative-meds-info/

Video – Evaluating the first year of New Medicines Information Service for Palliative Care – Eimear O’Dwyer, Chief Pharmacist, Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services, Dublin

Members: Marie Wright, (Chairperson) Pharmacist, Milford Care Centre, Limerick

Ms Aileen Barry, Senior Pharmacist, Marymount Hospice, Cork

Ms Anne Carmichael, Pharmacy Services Manager, Marymount Hospice, Cork

Ms Annalisa Devenney, Pharmacist, Letterkenny General Hospital, Co Donegal

Ms Aisleen Haughey, Pharmacist, Northwest Hospice, Co Sligo

Ms Karen Hodgson, Chief Pharmacist, Galway Hospice Foundation

Ms Grainne Keating, Chief Pharmacist II, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, Co Louth

Ms Ciara McGann, Senior Pharmacist, Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services, Harold’s Cross & Blackrock Hospice, Dublin

Ms Ann O’Connor, Chief Pharmacist, St Francis Hospice, Dublin 5

Ms Marianna O’Dowd, Pharmacist, Milford Care Centre, Co Limerick

Ms Eimear O’Dwyer, Chief Pharmacist, Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services, Dublin 6

Ms Paula Reynolds, Pharmacist, St Francis Hospice, Dublin 5

Ms Siun Tobin, Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services, Dublin 6