Making a difference

Meet the team Somia Ghaffar, one of our dedicated clinical pharmacists at Guildford Hospital. Somia qualified as a pharmacist in 2021, wanting to be in a profession where she could help people on a daily basis and make a difference.

How long have you been working in healthcare and what was the reason you got into it?

I qualified as a pharmacist in 2021. I wanted to be in a profession where I could help people on a daily basis and feel like I made a difference.

What do you love about working for Nuffield Health?

I love that I can work alongside other healthcare professionals to provide the best possible care for patients. I feel like I have a great work life balance and I always feel supported in my daily role.

Have you completed any courses or qualifications whilst working for the hospital?

I have just recently completed my independent pharmacist prescribing qualification in April.

What does your role involve?

As a clinical pharmacist, I am responsible for the clinical and accuracy checks of all inpatient and outpatient prescriptions. I complete drug histories and medicine reconciliations for all inpatients. When I clinically check a prescription, I am checking that the most appropriate drugs have been prescribed at appropriate doses. Furthermore, I check for any drug interactions and patient's blood results to determine any dose and/ or drug changes that need to be communicated to the doctor/ consultant. I provide information about the drugs that patients will be taking when I hand out their prescriptions. Moreover, I am able to support other healthcare professionals in the hospital with any medication queries they may have. At the moment, I am working with other departments to develop clinical guidelines to improve processes and enhance patient safety.