Megan Blythe
PHARMACIST Megan Blythe is passionate about promoting her profession.
And justifiably so.
The 33-year-old and her colleagues
are leading the way in delivering
prescribing pharmacy services at
IntraHealth’s medical centres and
GP practices.
The married mum of two-year-old
twins said: “People just don’t realise
what practice pharmacists actually do
and it would be great to be able to
showcase how important the role is.”
Megan desperately wants to dispel
the archetypal image of a white-coated
‘chemist’ handing over prescriptions
to patients.
Historically, patients have been
diagnosed and prescribed medication
by GPs which is then dispensed by
pharmacists.
Highly-qualified Megan, who
previously worked as a hospital
pharmacist before joining IntraHealth
nine years ago now complements GPs
by prescribing medication herself.
She sees it as a compliment that GPs
are now happy to share the workload
and adopt a partnership approach to
pharmacy provision in an increasing
number of pioneering IntraHealth
practices.
Megan has studied and trained hard
to get where she is and is passionate
about delivering a trailblazing service.
From Holywood, in Northern Ireland,
Megan crossed the Irish Sea 15 years
ago to study for a four-year pharmacy
degree at the University of Sunderland
at the age of 18.
She did her 12 month pre-registration
working on hospital wards at the
Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle before
returning to Sunderland where she
spent a further 12 months at the
city’s Royal Hospital.
Word of IntraHealth’s pioneering
approach to pharmacy provision soon
reached her and she joined the
company aged 24 to get away from
hospital ‘red tape’ and have a more
direct involvement with patients.
And far from looking back she has
taken massive steps forward to carve
out a career she is passionate about.
Megan, who joined IntraHealth as a
pharmacist in September 2003, spent
the first five years working across a
number of practices helping the
company deliver NHS contracts.
In 2007 she did a two-year clinical
diploma at Sunderland University
followed by a year-long prescribing
course at the same university.
She quickly added a university
supplementary prescriber course which
allows her to be an independent
prescriber.
Megan then had 12 months maternity
leave and returned in February 2011
where she started the new role
working as a prescribing pharmacist
across the three practices in
Sunderland and Washington.
She said: “It was a trial to see how it
would work having a pharmacist in a
practice.
“I was the first person to do it and we
have developed from there.
“There is nobody else in Sunderland
doing this kind of work and it is an
exciting challenge.
“There are now three of us within the
company and we have created a support network to help each other out.”
Such is her passion for the job,
Megan who is Anticoagulant and
Practice Pharmacist with IntraHealth,
is writing and preparing articles for
pharmaceutical publications and
medical journals.
Megan with husband Rob and their
twin boys, Archie and Thomas
Megan lives in Washington on the
outskirts of Sunderland, with husband
Rob, an IT consultant and their twin
boys Archie and Thomas.
She now works four days a week,
with her time divided between the
three IntraHealth practices in
Sunderland and Washington.
Albeit from Holywood in Northern Ireland and not Hollywood in California,
Megan is determined to be the
leading lady in her chosen profession.
She added: “I’m quite passionate
about promoting what pharmacists
really do. People don’t really know
how much we actually can do.
“IntraHealth has given me the
opportunities to develop and do so
much more than I would be able to
with other employers.
“You can go in and manage your work
and be in control of yourself. It’s a
compliment that GPs share their workload with us and there’s a great feeling
of teamwork and trust in our practices
which is a great thing for patient care.
“A recent British Medical Journal
report stated that there really is a role
for pharmacists in practices and that
the concept can only get bigger.
“In my role with IntraHealth I really do
feel at the forefront of something big.”
Pennywell Medical Centre
Portsmouth Road, Pennywell
Sunderland SR4 9AS
Tel: 0191 534 7924