Project Name: King’s MS Capacity Redesign

Project Summary:

This is a collaborative working Project with King’s College Hospital NHS FT & Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK. The Project aims to redesign and expand the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) service with the addition of a MS Specialist Nurse and a MS pharmacy technician to support with the management, review, and follow-ups of MS patients. This will address the capacity issues being experienced by Kings, help to tackle the backlog of patients and address the risk of delays in starting and switching treatments. Furthermore, it will also support the welfare of the staff as the current patient numbers passing through the service are only possible due to the goodwill of the team who are consistently working extra shifts and this is not sustainable. The addition of these two roles will allow the clinical work to be more evenly distributed throughout the team, thus allowing increased time for other activities, such as, presence on the ward, educational activities and general patient care. 

Planned Milestones:

  • Project kick off meeting and set up of subsequent quarterly reviews
  • Recruitment of nurse and pharmacy technician with baseline measurements submitted. Define roles and responsibilities of Nurse and pharmacy technician
  • Clinical initiation
  • 6-month data collection
  • 12-month data collection
  • Business case submitted
  • Project Outcomes Summary completed

Expected Benefits:

ANTICIPATED BENEFITS FOR PATIENTS

  • Improved patient outcomes due to faster time from referral to treatment time;
  • Improved access to NICE recommended therapy;
  • enhanced patient experience of the NHS MS service by reducing unnecessary waiting times.

ANTICIPATED BENEFITS FOR THE ORGANISATION(S)

  • Improved quality of care;
  • Reduction in patient waiting lists;
  • Improved MDT efficiency and outcomes;
  • Improved experience of staff by spreading workload

ANTICIPATED BENEFITS FOR NOVARTIS

  • Learnings relating to the involvement of MS Pharmacy technician at MDTs;
  • Better understanding of overall customers’ and patients’ needs;
  • Optimal use of medicines (including Novartis medicines) in appropriate patients.

Start Date & Duration: January 2023 for 18 months

UK2301168459

Project Name: King's MS Capacity Redesign

Partner Organisation(s): King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Completion Date: June 2024

Outcome Summary:

This is a collaborative working Project with King’s College Hospital NHS FT & Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK. The MS service at the trust benefitted from the addition of an MS Specialist Nurse and an MS pharmacy technician for 12 months to support the management, review, and follow-ups of MS patients. Patients were reviewed and were able to start treatment more quickly. The welfare of the staff increased due to the burden of care being more evenly distributed and less evening and weekend work. There was increased presence on the ward and more time for educational activities and general patient care, particularly for the most complex cases.

Key Project Outcomes Data:

  • Average time from MDT to implementation was reduced from 20 weeks to 12 weeks. 
  • Text messaging service for patients was implemented by pharmacy technician
  • Significantly less ad hoc/weekend clinics were required for the duration of the project
  • The average number of patients starting NICE approved treatment at each milestone increased from 40 to 59 in a 3 month period. 

Outcomes:

The involvement of the pharmacy technician in prescribing responsibilities has significantly enhanced the efficiency of patient care on the ward. Previously, the delay in attending to in-patient requests was notable. However, as a result of the project, the team now exhibits increased flexibility, enabling urgent interactions with in-patients.

Moreover, the nursing team has been able to allocate more time towards managing complex cases, alleviating the burden for individual staff members and promoting a sense of reduced pressure and improved well-being among the team.

Collaboration between the pharmacy technician and the extra nurse has expedited the training process for new and junior staff members. The availability of a greater number of mentors and exposure to a wider range of cases has been recognised as an investment in the future workforce.

The pharmacy technicians have allowed pharmacists to allocate more time to important tasks such as participating in multidisciplinary team meetings, handling referrals, and staying on top of blood monitoring. The increased capacity has also enabled the senior pharmacist to engage in more prescribing activities and allocate time for personal development.

Furthermore, the pharmacy technicians have taken on some nursing duties, which has assisted the nursing staff in focusing on patient care. The inclusion of the pharmacy team in follow-up prescriptions, particularly non-infusion prescriptions, has proven beneficial in terms of efficiency and safety. Moreover, groundwork has been laid in terms of screening processes, setting the stage for improved efficiency in the future.

Conclusion:

This Project proved to be highly effective in enhancing the quality of patient care and promoting the well-being of NHS staff. Strong bonds were forged between the partners involved in the collaborative effort, providing Novartis with valuable insights into the MS landscape. These insights will be instrumental in shaping future MS collaborative projects, driving further improvements.

FA-11367478 | March 2025