An authentic yet lighthearted take on the world of medicines and healthcare in the UK

Polypharmacy Episodes

April 12, 2024

6.6 Dr Catherine Labinjoh - Realistic Medicine & The Drug Portal to The World…

Did you know that according to the OECD, a fifth of healthcare costs adds no value to patient care? This, along with the drive for shared decision making is the drive behind Scotland’s ‘Realistic Medicine’ campaign.

Listen to the episode

March 8, 2024

6.4 Professor Tony Avery OBE - The Problem with Prescribing?

How do you influence the prescribing habits of an entire country? This is the task of NHS England’s National Clinical Director of Prescribing Professor Tony Avery.

Listen to the episode

June 8, 2023

5.8 - Paul Woodgate - The Patient Voice and the lived reality of Polypharmacy

A fantastic chat this week we talk to Paul Woodgate who as well as having Type II Diabetes and Parkinson’s disease is an advocate for patients in the design of healthcare services. We hear how this important role has evolved from being the oft ignored voice at the back of the room to being a central part of service design.

Listen to the episode

May 19, 2023

5.7 Louise Jenkins and Cystic Fibrosis - Not part of my life, but my whole life

A truly joyful patient story when we chat to Louise Jenkins. Cystic Fibrosis is a condition that encompasses your whole life. Louise talks to us about growing up with the condition, balancing the constant need for treatment with trying to grow up normally.Louise describes being ill with CF as ‘like having a second job’, and tells us the transformative effect a change in drugs has had on her life. It is a miraculous story.

Listen to the episode

Dec. 23, 2022

The Aural Apothecary Almanac 2022 – Polypharmacy, the Menopause and Growing old with Medicines

Join the Three Apothecaries and some old friends as they gather around the fire and reflect on the year. Jamie, Gimmo and Steve the Chemist are joined by friends of the show Clare Howard and Jonathan Underhill to discuss the highs and lows of 2022 starting with COVID and ending with Strep A, what a year for healthcare and medicines it has been.

Listen to the episode

July 29, 2022

4.6 Dr Wasim Baqir – Shine On - Changing lives through improved medicines use in Care Homes.

We chat to Dr Wasim Baqir - a senior pharmacist from the Pharmacy Integration Programme at NHS England. Was takes us through his career and work with developing pharmacy services with NHS England and in particular we discuss his work on medicines optimisation in care homes as part of the Health Foundations Shine Programme – a genuine game-changer.

Listen to the episode

June 17, 2022

4.4 - Dr Nkiruka Umaru. Tea, cake and medicines.

A real pleasure this week to welcome one the Pharmaceutical Journal's ‘Women to Watch in 2022’ Nkiruku Umuaru. Nikkie is currently the Pharmacy Foundation Head of School, Interim Education and Postgraduate Pharmacy Lead at the University of Herefordshire. We chat to Nikkie about medicines in older people, and in particular how to have good conversations with them about their medicines.

Listen to the episode

May 6, 2022

4.1 - Getting Older and how to deal with it - with bestselling author Dr Lucy Pollock

We are joined by Consultant Geriatrician and bestselling author Dr Lucy Pollock. As Lucy tells us - we all become old if we are lucky. But how do we deal with it - as people and as health professionals? We chat about Lucy’s experience in working with the elderly and the importance of honesty, humour and shared decision making.

Listen to the episode

Nov. 5, 2021

3.4 Professor James McCormack - Bohemian Polypharmacy

This week we are joined from Canada by Professor James McCormack, a pharmacist and co-host of the Best Science Medicine Podcast and is world renowned for his entertaining take on shared decision making and using evidence based information. James also uses music to teach others about polypharmacy and deprescribing. No, really!

Listen to the episode

Oct. 8, 2021

3.2 - Chris Martin - Innovation, Spread, Scale - and Hymns

In this episode it is our great pleasure to be joined by Chris Martin, a community pharmacist by background with extensive experience in a wide variety of Public Sector Roles, including ex Chair of Hywel Dda University Health Board ,the Welsh NHS Confederation and now Chair of the Life Sciences Wales and the Bevan Commission.

Listen to the episode

July 2, 2021

Episode 2.8 - Lelly Oboh - Wicked Problems, Mindlines and the Stripey Zebra.

Lelly began her career in community pharmacy and then worked as a primary care pharmacist, becoming the first UK community based consultant pharmacist in 2007. Her current role is at Guys and St Thomas and involves optimising medicines use in frailty, multimorbidity and polypharmacy.

Listen to the episode

June 18, 2021

Episode 2.6 Dr Mark Porter MBE - It shouldn't happen to a vet.

Mark is an NHS GP and award winning journalist. He spends half his week working as a GP partner in rural Gloucestershire, and the rest investigating and reporting on the latest developments in medicine. We chat to Mark about his new practice pharmacy professionals, deprescribing, and the six-week wait for hospital discharge communication.

Listen to the episode

June 11, 2021

Episode 2.5 - Professor Rachel Elliott - The Empty Chair and Technology Solutionism

Rachel is a pharmacist and Professor of Health Economics at University of Manchester. Rachel has worked with Datalab, NICE and Academic Health Science networks to contribute health economics input of commissioning. We chat to Rachel about ‘having a foot in two camps’, rationing and the over-use of technology to solve problems.

Listen to the episode

May 28, 2021

Episode 2.3 - Dr Tessa Lewis - NO-TEARS, Thinking Fast & Slow and Chronic Kidney Injury

We chat to Dr Tessa Lewis a GP in Blaenavon, Wales and a Therapeutics and Medical Advisor. As well as being the author of the renowned ‘NO-TEARS’ medication review framework Tessa was awarded the ‘Distinguished Contribution to NICE Award’ for her contribution to its work.

Listen to the episode

Feb. 19, 2021

Episode 2 - Clare Howard and Multimorbidity

We meet our first guest, Clare Howard who has worked in pharmacy since she was 16 and in the past was Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for NHS England. She is now the Medicines Optimisation Clinical Director for the Wessex Academic Health & we discuss polypharmacy, PINCER, multimorbidity as well as middle aged apathy.

Listen to the episode