What is an Anti-Coagulant Pharmacist? Shabbir’s Story

I’m Shabbir and I’m a Relief Pharmacist, working across the South London region. I am also an Anti-Coagulant Pharmacist for the Croydon area. I qualified as a Pharmacist in 2011 and joined Boots in 2013 because I wanted to work and learn from a large multiple. To me, Boots has always been the pioneer and lead in pharmacy, so I joined to learn all that I could to build my foundation in my pharmacy career.

I am really passionate about the pharmacy profession. It’s been important to me to showcase what a pharmacist can do, as we are trained healthcare professionals and often the 1st point of call to a patient. We play an important role in local communities especially with the current changes to the NHS structure and it pushing pharmacy to be more of a clinical role. I therefore decided to expand my career and develop my clinical skills with the help of Boots.

I undertook training to become Anti-Coagulant Pharmacist. This involved completing extra calculation/physical technique training and courses under doctors and other health care professionals to enable me to deal with the intricate details of anticoagulation. It means that I can now run warfarin clinics as part of the Bromley/Sutton/Croydon community Anti-Coagulation Service.

The Bromley/ Sutton/ Croydon community Anticoagulation service is provided by Boots pharmacists, and endorsed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Patients are seen much quicker for initial assessments and on-going monitoring and treatment, and those who are more vulnerable and often house bound are treated at home. All our clinics are ‘one stop point of care’. This means there is a simple finger prick test and a drop of blood is taken to obtain an INR result. I will advise patients on their warfarin dose and make any adjustments to dosage in line with the reading and any changes they have been told about all in one visit. An average appointment will last 5-10 minutes. This is a really important service for the local community and I was proud to be recognised at the 2018 Chemist and Druggist awards in the ‘Above and Beyond’ category as Runner Up for giving anticoagulation help to a bed bound patient.

I have a keen interest in mental health. I have also delivered talks in schools and the public sector as a pharmacist volunteer, teaching students how gratitude and mindfulness can empower and support them and covering ways to deal with anxiety, stress and depression. I have also written self-help books.

As a result of the work that I have done in the community, I was thrilled to receive the Boots Best of the Best Area Community award in 2018. Also I was proud to be recognised at the 2018 Chemist and Druggist awards in the ‘Online Initiative of the Year’ category as Runner Up.

I feel really lucky that I am able to balance my role as a Pharmacist in the community along with personal passions. It enables me to use a multitude of skills and my pharmacy knowledge to help a variety of patients as well as ultimately helping the NHS to think more positively about pharmacists. My career experiences have given me a deep understanding of mental health issues and their impact on clients and families and I am extremely grateful to have an opportunity to have job satisfaction by doing a collection of different pharmacist roles within Boots.

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