The PSS Intermediate Long Term Care (ILTC) Pharmacist Workgroup held its inaugural Management Meeting on the evening of the 27^th of June 2016.  The objective of this meeting was to apprise the Directors/Managers of the respective institutions which make up the PSS ILTC pharmacist workgroup of the following:

1.       What ILTC workgroup has accomplished in the past few years

2.       Future plans in the ILTC sector

The workgroup also sought the Directors’/Managers’ support for their pharmacists to continue their work in the ILTC Pharmacists Workgroup

Following a light dinner, Ms Grace Kng (Chairperson) started the meeting with a presentation sharing on the history and efforts of the workgroup from its beginning to the present day.   Besides providing pharmaceutical services to nursing homes, the group focused its efforts on 3 fronts:  (1)Engaging and educating nursing home staff about the benefits of pharmaceutical service,

(2) Assisting in the implementation of the Enhanced Nursing Home Standards and

(3) Providing medication management and medication knowledge training for nursing home staff.

Following which, Ms Yong Pei Chean (Ex-officio) led an active discussion on the future direction of the workgroup, the challenges faced by the pharmacist on the ground as well as clarification on some of the ongoing projects.

Ms Grace Kng (Chairperson) presented the journey of ILTC Pharmaceutical Care Improvement by the workgroup

Ms Yong Pei Chean (Ex-officio) led the Q & A session

The information shared at the meeting was very well received, and at its conclusion, the Directors/Managers indicated their continued support for the workgroup’s activities.

The PSS ILTC pharmacist workgroup would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the management of these institutions for their continued support and advice.

Who are the PSS ILTC pharmacist workgroup?

In 2011, the PSS Nursing home pharmacist workgroup was started when a pilot program was launched to provide pharmaceutical care to 6 nursing homes. The workgroup was formed to allow the nursing home pharmacists to come together to share practices and to ensure a standardised practice when providing their services to the nursing homes. Since then, this group has expanded and now comprises pharmacists from hospitals, community pharmacies, and community hospitals. The scope of the workgroup has also expanded beyond the nursing home sector to other parts of the intermediate-long term care sector. This is reflected in the recent name change to the PSS ILTC pharmacist workgroup. Members meet regularly to discuss issues relevant to the ILTC setting as well as Geriatric care.

 Table 1- List of management representatives from the various institutions

Table 2- List of workgroup members present at the meeting