Talking Meds - A PrescQIPP podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Zoe Girdis about recent prescribing hot topics. This is an opportunity to update your mindline with some of the recent changes from NICE and MHRA that impact medicines.

Zoe Girdis is a pharmacist prescriber who works as an independent consultant for primary care and as a trainer and educator. Her career as a pharmacist spans over 27 years working in England, Ireland and Australia. She was one of the first pharmacist prescribers in the UK and has worked for NICE as well as being the National Director for Practice, Policy and Regulation in Australia. 

Zoe co-founded and delivered the National Polypharmacy Action Learning set 3 day course honing in on many of Zoe’s passions – shared decision making, person centred care and educating/mentoring colleagues to create successful communities of practice and, frankly, be the best clinicians they can be. 

Click here to access the slides that accompany the hour long webinar that covered these topics in more detail.

Today's episode covers the following topics:

• MHRA Drug Safety Update on Topical steroids: introduction of new labelling and a reminder of the possibility of severe side effects, including Topical Steroid Withdrawal Reactions
• NICE Type 2 diabetes in adults: management (medicines update)
• NICE NG 106: Chronic heart failure in adults: diagnosis and management (updated Sept 2025)

Other useful links

• GP Evidence decision tool on Heart Failure with reduced ejection fraction
• GP Evidence on type-2 diabetes
• NICE PDA on type 2 diabetes

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available on the first Friday of the month.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Laura Kearney about the use of medicines in breast feeding. Laura is the Clinical Lead pharmacist for the team at the UK Drugs in Lactation Advisory Service, an NHS service advising on the use of medicines in breastfeeding.

Laura is a Medicines Advice pharmacist with a clinical background in hospital pharmacy. She previously worked at the BNF, where she gained her MSc. She specialises in medicines use in breastfeeding, and in 2022 was the first UK pharmacist to become a UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative Qualified Advocate. Last year she also became the first consultant pharmacist specialising in lactation and medicines advice.  She has a passion for ensuring all babies and families are supported to breastfeed, providing evidence-based holistic care, and advocating for change. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Breastfeeding Network | Independent Breastfeeding Support
• e-lactancia. Is this compatible with breastfeeding?
• Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®) - NCBI Bookshelf
• Pharmaceutical Journal - Some women stop breastfeeding following ‘overly cautious’ medication advice

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available on the first Friday of the month.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Dr Deb Gompertz about a truly inspirational piece of work she led called 'Show me your medicines please'.

Deb was a GP partner for 16 years then complex care GP for last 8 working within the South part of Somerset Foundation Trust. She is Deputy Honorary Secretary for the British Geriatrics Society. Like me, she has a strong interest in person centred care and shared decision making

Seeing a patient’s medication is not part of the normal medication review. Deb and her team showed that, by asking people to 'show me your medicines please' they identified a cohort of the population at increased risk of adverse events from erratic medicines use, poor long-term condition management and, potentially, an undiagnosed condition such as dementia. 

In the first three-month pilot, the team identified 40 patients (1 in 4 of those assessed) who were not taking their medicines as per their prescribed regimen. They identified 1,049 individual months of unused prescription items and the total amount of wasted medication was valued at £10,866.

You can see how impactful this simple intervention can be. Frankly, we think asking the question, 'show me your medicines please'  should be a routine part of medication review.

"Show Me Your Medicines Please" resources (available for free from the PrescQIPP website):

• Show Me Your Medicines Please

PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:

• Bulletin 366. Medicines adherence and waste
• Bulletin 319: Good prescribing
• Bulletin 268: IMPACT
• Bulletin 255. Prevent Medicine Waste Campaigns - inhalers, insulin, ONS (sip feeds) and general campaign
• Adherence and waste

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

• Show me your medicines please - British Geriatric Society
• Pharmaceutical Journal article on the project
• Radical candour resources

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available on the first Friday of the month.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, continues the series 'Caring about medicines in Care Homes with Jonathan and Sundus'. Here, Jonathan talks to Sundus Jawad who works for NHS Frimley, and has over 25 years' experience working closely with GP practices, care homes and other providers. 

Sundus was recently elected Chair of the National Pharmacy Care Home Faculty and is a NICE Medicines and Prescribing Associate. Her professional and research interests focus on medicine optimisation in care homes, frailty, medication review, polypharmacy, and medication safety. Currently, she is in her fellowship year of the NIHR SPCR Primary Care Clinician Career Progression programme at the University of Oxford.

Jonathan and Sundus discuss some of the ways Care Homes Pharmacy professionals can stay in touch to share good ideas and support each other with their medicines challenges. They also discuss some projects Sundus has been involved with, including ensuring adequate hydration in care homes and how this can impact on antibiotic stewardship.

PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:

• E-learning: Nutrition and Hydration in care homes
• Care home VPG: 15th January 2025 - Frailty and Nutrition

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

• Reducing urinary tract infections in care homes by improving hydration
• Resources – Good Hydration! - Health Innovation Oxford & Thames Valley
• PCPA NPCHF | PCPA - Primary Care Pharmacy Association
• CPPE Medicines optimisation in care homes training pathway for pharmacy professionals

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available on the first Friday of the month.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Helen Kilminster about her role as Clinical Director of a PCN and the importance of having really good generalists in healthcare (spoiler alert, Jonathan and Helen both think pharmacists make great generalists!).

Helen is the senior pharmacist, advanced clinical practitioner at Portway Family Practice, Sandwell in the West Midlands area of England. She is also the PCN Deputy Clinical Director for Citrus Health, which covers over 43,000 patients across 6 practices. Helen was the LVS lead for the COVID Vaccination Programme 2020, which provided vaccination services for 22 GP surgeries at City Hospital. She is the Vice President for Primary Care Pharmacy Association, a Royal Pharmaceutical Society Fellow and a member of the NHSEI Inclusive Pharmacy Practice Advisory Board,  NHSEI Pharmacy Integration Clinical Reference Group and was a committee member for the UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership.

PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:

• PrescQIPP Practice Medicines Coordinator e-learning (pay per use)

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

• Range. How generalists triumph in a specialised world - David Epstein
• Side Effects. How Our Healthcare Lost its Way – And How We Fix it - David Haslam

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available on the first Friday of the month.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Minna Eii about the sustainability challenges for medicines.

Minna  is an Acute Medicine hospital pharmacist based in the northeast. She is the co-founder of an environmentally conscious pharmacy group in the UK called Pharmacy Declares and the lead author of the newly launched Royal Pharmaceutical Society Greener Pharmacy Toolkit.

Jonathan and Minna discuss what the challenges are for pharmacy as medicines account for 25% of carbon emissions within the NHS. While recycling packaging and avoiding waste is important, the challenge is far wider than that. Making sure the medicine is truly required and wanted by the person in the first place is key to this.

Join Minna for an online webinar on 29th May by clicking this link

PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:

• Find out more about the PrescQIPP Awards
• PrescQIPP Bulletin 340. Sustainability in medicines optimisation
• PrescQIPP Community Resources - Sustainability in General Practice: Improving Health Outcomes through more sustainable prescribing a system wide PCN level Intervention (2024)

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available on the first Friday of the month.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, continues the series of podcasts called 'Caring about medicines in Care Homes with Jonathan and Sundus'. Here, Jonathan talks to Sundus Jawad who works for NHS Frimley, and has over 25 years' experience working closely with GP practices, care homes and other providers. 

Sundus was recently elected Chair of the National Pharmacy Care Home Faculty and is a NICE Medicines and Prescribing Associate. Her professional and research interests focus on medicine optimisation in care homes, frailty, medication review, polypharmacy, and medication safety. Currently, she is in her fellowship year of the NIHR SPCR Primary Care Clinician Career Progression programme at the University of Oxford.

In this episode, Jonathan and Sundus discuss some of medicines safety issues she has come across in her career and how care home settings produce particular challenges.  She shares some stories that have stuck with her - some of them will make your eyes water! All in all, this emphasises the need for good training and support for staff working in care settings, and how pharmacy professionals can help with this.

PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:

• PrescQIPP Care Homes Webkit

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

• National Pharmacy Care Home Faculty in partnership with PCPA
• Pharmaceutical Journal - How we reduced anticholinergic prescribing by 52%
• NICE Guideline on Managing medicines in care homes
• Care Quality Commission Medicines information for adult social care services

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available on the first Friday of the month.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Philip Newland-Jones about new treatments for obesity and the updated NICE guideline from January 2025.

Philip is a Consultant Pharmacist in Diabetes and Endocrinology and leads a large dynamic team at University Hospital Southampton. He works at a National level on various committees including being the lead pharmacist for the NHS England Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinical Reference Group.

Jonathan and Philip discuss various challenging and sometimes controversial issues around the management of obesity. The evidence for the effectiveness of some of the medicines options is impressive, but they are not without side effects - careful and appropriate use is key. Many new medicines are in development and Philip gives us an insight into what we can expect on the horizon.

PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:

• Bulletin 323: Bariatric surgery July 2023
• PrescQIPP Prescribing Mastery; Prescribing Hot topics 26th March 2025

Useful NICE obesity resources:

• Tirzepatide: local formulary information
• A practical guide to using medicines to manage overweight and obesity

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

• NHS England Interim commissioning guidance for
  tirzepatide (Mounjaro®)

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available on the first Friday of the month.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, introduces the first episode of a new series called 'Caring about medicines in Care Homes with Jonathan and Sundus'. 

We meet Sundus Jawad, who works for NHS Frimley, and has over 25 years' experience working closely with GP practices, care homes and other providers. 

In this episode, our hosts discuss some of issues she comes across commonly in her everyday work in care settings, which will be covered in more detail in future episodes. These include specific medicines safety challenges, common medication errors, the importance of nutrition and hydration as well as dealing with some of the behavioural aspects of dementia. The role of pharmacy professionals within the wider multidisciplinary team is at the heart of all of this and Sundus shares some memorable stories of people living in care settings she has met along the way.

PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:

• PrescQIPP Care Homes webkit
• PrescQIPP Clinical Masterclass - September 2024 - Antipsychotic prescribing in people with dementia
• PrescQIPP Bulletin 268: IMPACT
• PrescQIPP Bulletin 356: Stopping over-medication of psychotropic drugs
• PrescQIPP Bulletin 331: Medication reviews in patients with multi-morbidity

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

• NICE Guideline on Managing medicines in care homes
• Care Quality Commission Medicines information for adult social care services
• Repeat Prescribing Toolkit
• National Polypharmacy Programme from Wessex Health Innovation Network
• Get details of upcoming ALS cohorts and book your place here.

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available on the first Friday of the month.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

Find out more about PrescQIPP here

Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Hadeel Mohamed about a fantastic programme she co-leads to provide mentorship for female pharmacists from an ethnically diverse background – ENIGMA.

Hadeel is a senior pharmacist prescriber with a background in hospital and general practice. She is currently Deputy Head of Clinical Pharmacy and Education Lead for a GP Federation in Leeds and Polypharmacy Clinical Lead for Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber. Hadeel is also in her final year of a PhD at The University of Bradford, which is exploring medication self-management behaviours in older people using multiple medicines at the hospital-to-home transition.

Jonathan and Hadeel first met via the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Mentorship scheme - https://www.rpharms.com/development/mentoring. Mentoring is important to both of them and they talk about Hadeel's inspiration to set up and lead (with fellow pharmacist Emily Turner) the ENIGMA programme. ENIGMA stands for ‘ENhancing leadershIp amonGst ethnically diverse feMale phArmacists’. 

In particular they discuss why such programmes are important to overcome some of the rather stark workforce figures (32% of the UK pharmacy workforce are women from an ethnically diverse background, yet only 6% of NHS Band 9 posts are made up of people) from this group). They discuss the initial success stories from this and how it is important that this work continues on a firm footing.

PrescQIPP resources mentioned in this episode:

• PrescQIPP Skills training: Mentoring
• PrescQIPP Leadership at Lunch webinars

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

• Royal Pharmaceutical Society Mentorship scheme
• ENIGMA programme
• Find out more and contact Hadeel or Emily on LinkedIn

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available on the first Friday of the month.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

Find out more about PrescQIPP here