{
  "abstract": "Aim Pharmacists roles are advancing and developing, but there is little that currently defines their role. 1 We aimed to reflect on real-world insight into the paediatric clinical pharmacy practice in a single specialist paediatric hospital.Method Utilising a pharmacist who has never worked in the UK a mixed method approach was used to gain insight into the paediatric pharmacist’s role.1. An interactive patient engagement event was hosted with children (n=45) and their carers (n=20). Semi-structured discussions were conducted on topics such as people’s expectations of pharmacists and what was most value to them from a pharmacist delivery point of view.2. 5 days of observational work (4 hours a day, recorded via observer note taking) of 6 pharmacists working on six different speciality wards was conducted while the pharmacists were engaging in patient reviews and attending multidisciplinary team (MDT) ward rounds. Observer notes were written up, themed and validated by the ward pharmacist.Results Across many conversations it was noted that parents expect pharmacists to provide guidance on how to use medicines correctly, this was especially emphasised in the context of hospital discharge. There was a strong sense of trust in pharmacists’ expertise, particularly regarding rare and trial medication: ‘I expect them to know everything about this new drug…. If something goes wrong, they should know what to do!’ A distinct theme of enhancing safety came across, especially with complex and high-risk medicines. Several carers and MDT members commented on the importance of actual ‘pharmacist oversight and presence’ being important at ward level. Their presence at ward level was seen to ‘enhance medicine safety’.It was clear how strongly caregivers’ beliefs can influence treatment options, sometimes complicating medication decisions. Pharmacists were sometimes put in ethically complex positions to navigate through and make decisions. Understanding family context, communication preferences and social pressures stood out as key aspects for pharmacist to understand prior to any interventions.Conclusion The engagement event and clinical observation offered valuable insight into the perceived role of the paediatric clinical pharmacist. People often associated the need for a pharmacist involvement not only with medicine complexity, but also the severity of the underlying disease. This perspective requires greater clarity to identify the pharmacists role in relation to pharmacological risk and patient clinical severity. Paediatric pharmacists are expected to consider not just the medication but also the personal and family circumstance.Paediatric pharmacists should focus on medication complexity and laboratory results, but must also focus on disease severity and other patient factors, such as different languages, strong religious beliefs and specific ideas about treatments.Far more research is needed to define the ‘value-added’ contribution of paediatric pharmacist and define the workforce needed to deliver this.Reference Ashiru-Oredope D, Osman R, Ayeni AH, et al. Pharmaceutical public health: a mixed-method study exploring pharmacy professionals’ advanced roles in public health, including barriers and enablers. Pharmacy 2025;13:1–37.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Stephen Tomlin"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium"
      ],
      "name": "Elena Van Nederkasselac"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "UCL School of Pharmacy, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Sara Garfield"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P45 A reflective review of the role of paediatric pharmacists",
  "uid": "944f76d1-a36f-547c-91bc-b53b12e52425"
}