Tuesday 07 September

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Pharmacists and GPs must work together to define the gaps in commissioning data, review how they can be filled and to determine the correct level of care provision for a particular area, according to Stephen Foster, the head of the new Healthcare Professionals Commissioning Network. The network is open to any health or social ca...

Accident Treatment

Up to 100,000 lives could be saved every year in the UK if a known drug were given to trauma patients with serious bleeding, according to The Lancet. The research indicated that tranexamic acid (TXA) could lower the mortality rate by 15 per cent due to its blod clotting properties.

News in Brief

Cost Of A Pint

The 'shocking' cost of alcohol misuse in Northern Ireland was highlighted by Health Minister Michael McGimpsey in June after estimates that its cost to society equates to £679.8million with a range of £500million to £884million. "This research shows that the cost to the Health Service alone may be as high as around £160million each year with a further cost of £82million to Social Services,î the Minister said. ìThese figures are particularly pertinent in the context of my Departmentís very challenging financial situation because this is money that could be spent providing key frontline services."

Heart In Hands

The British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland is appealing to fundraisers to help it reach its target of £80,000 by August. The campaign is to recruit more heart nurses to support patients throughout the province and to reduce secondary care admissions.

Haiti Fundraising

Staff at Holly Villa in the Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital have raised over £320 for a group who are travelling to Haiti in October to build houses following the earthquake. The Tyrone Haiti Build is a project in conjunction with the Haven Partnership to support those affected by the disaster.

Secondary Care Supported

A new hospital in Omaghs fight for funding has been supported by Health Minister Michael McGimpsey. Speaking at a meeting with the Omagh joint liaison group, the Minister said: "I am fully committed to the development of the new Omagh hospital and will continue to press for the essential funding needed to make this a reality."

Commissioning Together

Laura Croft!

Written by Laure James - Editor Pharmacy in Focus

Thursday, 17 September 2009 14:57

Move over Angelina, there's a new action heroine in town...

Fresh from providing ‘Hope on the Rope’ to those living with cancer in Northern Ireland by abseiling down the Odyssey Arena, Medicare pharmacist Laura Frazer could not wait to satisfy her resurfacing taste for adventure. ‘Laura Croft’ as she may soon become known as, succeeded in taking on the mighty two-day Rat Race Urbane Adventure Challenge, while raising further valuable funds for the Ulster Cancer Foundation, through the Ulster Chemists’ Association’s Charity Challenge.

Laura, who also completed the Belfast City Marathon for mental health charity Cause, has been on the look out for something new and exciting, which presented an opportunity for fundraising. “In my line of work you see people every day who suffer from serious heath problems and if I can do something small it can mean a lot to some people,” she explained. “The Rat Race Urbane Challenge takes adventure sports out of the wilderness and putting it onto the streets of Belfast. It is a totally unique adventure challenge in which teams and individuals race in a multi-sport test of endurance, skills and guts on a course that is only revealed just hours before the event begins.”

Laura faced a 50km cycle through the streets of Belfast and out to as far as Dundonald, along with a 3.5km kayak up the Lagan River and a 20km run along with a number of activities one of which included abseiling down the Victoria Centre. All of these gruelling tasks had to be completed within an eight hour time scale, which Laura successfully achieved with one hour to spare.

“Adventure races are so incredible and so few pharmacists do them that you get this great sense of achievement and there is such intense endurance that you can feel invincible,” she added. “When you cross the line there are parts of your body aching and you feel this strange combination of exhilaration and agony. I think when people hear the words ‘adventure racer’ they think of rough grizzled guys and butch girls who live and train in the wilds, but I’m living proof that these kind of events are open to anyone who wants to do something to raise money for charity.

“It is a passion and something which gives me a bit more strength into the rest of my life. I feel it makes me physically stronger and mentally sharper and that translates well in my work life in the pharmacy world.”