The quality of Tasmanian pharmacists has been on display at the Society of Hospital Pharmacy of Australia’s national conference in Brisbane this weekend, with the national awards showcasing the incredible talent of pharmacy staff working in our health system here in Tasmania.
Taking out awards in many categories, it is clear that Tasmania is leading the way when it comes to fostering a strong hospital pharmacy workforce across the State.
Congratulations to Duncan McKenzie who has received the Society of Hospital Pharmacy of Australia’s 2022 Medal of Merit, in recognition of his leadership and innovation in clinical practice and Tasmanian hospital pharmacy governance.
Duncan, who is currently a Clinical Adviser to myself as Minister for Health, has been a highly regarded and trusted Department of Health employee throughout Tasmania’s COVID-19 response and the vaccination program. Duncan’s role in expanding the pharmacy technician workforce and scope of practice through the development of Tasmania’s Bedside Medication Management initiative should also be commended.
As we work to implement new and innovative models for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in hospitals, Tasmania’s innovative new Bedside Medication Management Program has been recognised with the Hospital Team of the Year Award.
The initiative sees pharmacy technicians working on acute hospital wards to manage patient medications and, as a result, also frees up nurses and midwives to focus on patient care. As part of the $4.7 million program, we have recruited 30 new full-time-equivalent pharmacy technicians across the State and will assign a technician to each acute inpatient ward in our four major public hospitals.
To add to this achievement, Tasmanian Katie Ambrose has been awarded Pharmacy Technician of the Year in recognition of her significant role in the implementation and rollout of the Program which began earlier this year.
Katie is the Lead Pharmacy Technician from North West Tasmania and was the first technician to work in the newly created role of Statewide Pharmacy Technician Manager. Katie has played an important part in developing training tools and frameworks, as well as supporting statewide recruitment as we work to fill the 30 new pharmacy technician positions.
This is the third year that the Pharmacy Technician of the Year award has been presented, and the third year it has been won by a Tasmanian – a proud achievement for our great State.
Finally, I congratulate Tom Simpson who has been elected as President of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia. Tom takes the reigns from outgoing President – and fellow Tasmanian - Peter Fowler. I thank Peter for his service to pharmacy practice in Tasmania and indeed across Australia.
Hospital pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are invaluable to our Tasmanian health system and will play a vital role in the coming years as we look to introduce new and innovative ways to deliver health services for Tasmanians.
On behalf of the Tasmanian Government, I congratulate and thank our pharmacy workforce for their service.