A Black Country pharmacist has been recognised at this year’s PCPA Excellence in General Practice Pharmacy Awards 2023.
Hosted by the Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA), the awards aim to recognise pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in primary care.
Nazir Hussain is a specialist pharmacist in respiratory care at Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust (DIHC) and has received the General Practice Pharmacists of the Year award in recognition of his work establishing a specialist pharmacist respiratory clinic in Dudley.
Nazir’s innovative one-stop pharmacist-led respiratory service was set up against the backdrop of the UK having one of the highest respiratory related mortality and morbidity data in Western Europe. The aim of the service was to improve patient safety by providing an early and accurate diagnostic service using spirometry and the use of FeNO (fractional exhaled nitric oxide) tests which measure levels of nitric oxide in your breath, reviewing patients on inhalers without a respiratory diagnosis, and working closely with secondary care colleagues to identify patients suitable for referral to the difficult asthma clinic.
The service promotes clinical excellence and is delivered across GP practices in Dudley, rotating Primary Care Networks on a quarterly basis. In the last 12 months, Nazir has made some impressive achievements including reviewing over 450 patients, many with difficult-to treat asthma, potentially preventing almost 250 hospital admissions, A&E visits, and outpatient appointments.
Nazir, who has been a GP pharmacist since 2002, said: “I am absolutely delighted to have received this honour at this year’s PCPA Excellence in General Practice Pharmacy Awards.
“Diagnosing and managing patients with asthma and COPD can be challenging which is why I felt it was important to set up a dedicated clinic to support these patients. Feedback from patients and practice clinicians has been excellent and the aim now is to develop a primary care respiratory diagnostic hub in Dudley and across the whole of the Black Country.”
Sarb Basi, Director of Primary Care for the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said: “Nazir has played a vital role in improving patient care in Dudley and it’s brilliant that he has been recognised at a national level.
“He is an inspiration to colleagues and a brilliant ambassador for pharmacists in the Black Country.”
