This audit cycle aimed to identify deficiencies in medicines management in an adult psychiatric hospital. The original audit in 2009 highlighted that a number of improvements were needed to enhance prescribing standards. Following implementation of these recommendations, two reaudits were performed to assess both the improvements in medicines management along with evaluating the newly introduced drug prescription chart.

Local, national and international guidelines on medicines management were reviewed in 2009, following which an audit tool was designed. Recommendations from the original audit were taken on board with the introduction of a new medication chart. This chart incorporated many of the recommendations from the original audit into it. Two reaudits were then performed, each over 1 day by four assessors and included all inpatient wards.

The initial audit in 2009 outlined a number of recommendations, namely the introduction of an appropriate ‘fit for purpose’ medication chart, the need for regular postgraduate prescribing education and training and the consideration of a prescribing formulary and/or Drugs & Therapeutics Committee. Results from the reaudits revealed that considerable improvement was made in areas such as patient demographics, pharmacist involvement, generic prescribing, BLOCK capitals, inclusion of Medical Council Registration Number, PRN prescribing and discontinuation procedures.

Although significant improvement was noted, further improvement is required with regards to the need for a review date for PRN medication; the need for improved documentation of allergies, height and weight; and the importance of a working group to assess community medicines management and the need for further reaudits to assess continued improvement in all deficient areas.

The RESPECT (Randomised Evaluation of Shared Prescribing for the Elderly in the Community, randomised over Time) trial was a multi-centre pragmatic trial of pharmaceutical care in the community, which took place in five areas of East and North Yorkshire.

This paper reports a qualitative study designed to explore attitudes of community pharmacists towards the process of ‘pharmaceutical care’ as tested in the trial.

We recruited 21 pharmacists from the trial into four focus groups, moderated by an independent researcher, and analysed using a thematic qualitative approach.

Four themes emerged from the data: the pharmacist–patient relationship; the pharmacist–general practitioner (GP) relationship; the pharmacists’ continuing professional development; and the role of peer support. Pharmacists welcomed this opportunity for more collaborative working with patients, GPs and peers.

There is evidence of sub-optimal teamwork between community pharmacists and GP prescribers, which could be improved by more joint training and by new extended roles for pharmacists.