Hirminder Kaur Ubhi
Co-Chair since January 2023
Multi-professional input as a Pharmacist
Elective Orthopaedic pre-operative medicine
Advanced Clinical Pharmacist @ The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital
Pre-operative assessment Clinic – working as part of the medical assessment team, sitting within the Anaesthetic division for pre-operative management of patients to ensure they are fit for surgery.
• Midlands Advanced Practice Faculty- Training Programme Director (Pharmacy)
Providing stakeholder engagement across the Midland’s region for Pharmacists within any speciality across any sector.
With specific links with the ICBs/ICSs, as needed, when there is supported needed by workforce managers and Pharmacists wanting to start their Advanced Clinical Practice Journeys and understanding around funding considerations.
I have been qualified for some 22 years as a Pharmacist, an independent prescriber, since 2008 and started as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) In Pre-assessment clinic, back in March 2017.
I took part in the initial three centre pilot, for Health Education West Midlands (HEWM) 2013. This involved looking at prescribing pharmacists, within their current skills, working in a Paediatric Emergency Department and whether they could have greater involvement in the patients care and management. Establishing whether further training may be needed to deliver this.
I along with the team at the paediatric centre, created standards to review patients, which were then repeated in an adult Hospital’s Emergency Department.
This initial pilot was successful and was followed up in a national project by Health Education England (HEE), across 49 Emergency Departments in the United Kingdom.
Following this pilot, I undertook my training in advanced practice at Warwick Medical School, 2015 and qualified as an Advanced Practitioner.
At the time, I had worked at a tertiary Children’s Hospital, for 7 years and so for a period, after qualifying, as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner, working as a member of the Hepatology medical team.
I have worked in various traditional Pharmacist roles, previously worked for a large Community Pharmacy Company. Followed by a period in Industry with Trinity Chiesi Pharmaceuticals, as part of the clinical and therapeutic review team. As well as in General Practice undertaking clinical therapeutic reviews for asthma, as an independent prescriber.
Considering, the Centre for advanced practice, Multi-professional Advanced practice framework of 2017 and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the Advanced Pharmacist curriculum recognition of the advanced clinical practice role, will allow for pharmacists working as ACPs and Advanced Pharmacists, to be recognised across various sectors of practice and the centre. This further clarifying and defining what it means to work at an Advanced level of practice.
Therefore, within my roles, I look forward to supporting and advocating the opportunities to pharmacists embarking on their advanced practice journeys, having walked the walk, with the positives and challenges.