A pharmacist-led pain clinic in Govanhill Health Centre has won a national award for the ‘Addressing Overprescribing’ category and an overall Silver Award, as voted by the audience, at the PrescQIPP Annual Awards 2021. The winners were announced at an online award ceremony on 13 October.

PrescQIPP is an independent not-for-profit organisation, funded by the NHS, which supports the NHS to improve medicines-related care to patients through robust, accessible, evidence-based resources. 

The clinic was set up in November 2020 by Tracy Brown, Prescribing Support Pharmacist in the South Locality of Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), using funding from the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme. The clinic was run from home using telephone consultations. Any of the three GP practices in Govanhill Health Centre can refer patients who have chronic pain into the Pharmacist Led Pain Clinic.

Tracy said: “During the event each of the five category winners discussed their projects and the attendees voted for an overall gold and silver award winner out of the category winners. We were delighted that after winning the ‘Addressing Overprescribing’ category that our pharmacist-led pain clinic in Govanhill Health Centre won the Silver Award.”

Tracy continued: “The pain clinic takes a more holistic approach to managing pain and tries not just to focus on the medical management of pain. The Pharmacist links in with other members of the Primary Care Team such as Community Links Workers and an Advanced Physiotherapist.

“Feedback from GPs has been great, and the evaluation of the clinic has shown at least a 40% reduction on GP appointments spent on chronic pain for patients attending the clinic. Patients are reporting reduced levels of pain and a reduction in how the pain affects their lives. Patient feedback has been excellent as well. There has been less medication for pain management prescribed and more of a focus on the self-management approach to pain.”

Raj Sabharwal, Lead for Prescribing & Clinical Pharmacy, South Locality said: "Tracy's pain clinic is an excellent example of effective MDT working. Patient feedback was overwhelming positive – with many valuing the time taken to listen and learn about their situation. GPs working alongside Tracy reported that her detailed holistic reviews enabled them to influence positive change for this patient cohort.

“All stakeholders believed this was an important and successful clinic and were pleased with the clinic outcomes. They also felt that this opportunity enabled key relationships to be built and developed where clear open lines of communication didn’t previously exist. Innovative methods such as referral to a yoga clinic and/ or link workers to help with social issues was valuable. The work also highlighted areas for development and potential ways of adjusting current services in the locality to sustain the results delivered through this clinic and better serve this population. We have also been able to share learning across HSCPs to inform best utilisation of pharmacists’ clinical skills in supporting complex pharmaceutical care."