By PEACE IJIYERA
LAST month, Kelly Abbott was awarded Consultant Pharmacist of the Year by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. She was awarded at the Consultant Pharmacist Conference on the Gold Coast.
Ms Abbott, a Traralgon local, received the award in recognition of her work advocating for more access to health home care and medication reviews across Gippsland.
With government caps in place, pharmacists are currently allowed to see 30 patients or conduct 30 bulk billed visits a month.
Ms Abbott, among many pharmacists around Australia, are of the opinion that this is not enough and there is a need for more access to these services.
As part of her role being a home medication reviewer, Ms Abbott visits people in their homes as directed by a general practitioner (GP). She investigates the medications of the patient, evaluates how medications interact and if they are the right ones. She also looks at what effects the medications are having on the patient and weighs the options of potentially weaning patients off certain medications. Simply put, Ms Abbott says she gets “to play detective.”
Originally, Ms Abbott had her sights set on being an international journalist, but after an incident with a dog biting her face, and struggling to take medication, Ms Abbott decided to pursue a career in pharmacy.
“I had an incident where my dog accidentally bit me in the face and I couldn’t swallow the large antibiotic tablet they had to give me after stitching me up … that’s what sparked my interest in pharmacy,” she said.
She studied a Bachelor of Pharmacy for four years at Monash University. It was her year-long internship at Sale Hospital that brought her down to Gippsland. Though she found the experience “daunting”, Ms Abbott says it was a pivotal step in her career.
“I then transferred out of there once I finished being an intern into community pharmacy, moved to Traralgon and that’s where I’ve been almost ever since.”
For Ms Abbott, to receive this recognition is a testament to all of her work over the years.
“Probably the biggest thing that led to the award was over the last 18 months to two years, really advocating for particularly people in Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley of course, to have more access to pharmacists,” she said.
“Because the government limits me at the moment, I’m only allowed to see 30 people a month. For a home medicine review, only 30 get bulk billed. If anyone wants to jump the queue they have to pay, which I think is incredibly wrong.”
Did you know that the Latrobe Valley is the unhealthiest region in Australia? This mostly due to low air quality, chronic illness and heart and lung issues impacting the health of residents.
Ms Abbott says this fact is disappointing and with more access to home medication review services, more people could be helped.
“We live in Australia’s unhealthiest area – Latrobe Valley’s number one. With the highest rates of hospitalisation due to heart problems, highest heart related deaths [and] highest smoking rates,” she said.
“Let a pharmacist loose so I can help people. I’ve got time to see double the patients the government funds me to. Let me go.
“There’s a lot of work a pharmacist and other health professionals can do here. So don’t limit me. Don’t limit anyone here who will help with healthcare”.
With GP’s and pharmacists working hand-in-hand, Ms Abbott is also currently teaching in GP practises.
“I head into the GP’s for a lunch visit, we have a good chat about a topic, at the moment the topic is menopause – hot off the press, big issue at the moment. I’m assessing other pharmacists who want to do work like me. So we’re trying to build the workforce despite the caps on the service.”
She says the topic of menopause is being well received by GP’s.
“GP’s are enthusiastic to provide better care, but it’s also something that none of us were really taught very well at university level back in the day. So we’re filling knowledge gaps in a really GP specific centred way to help them help women who deserve better.
“I mean 50 per cent of the population go through menopause. If GP’s are really good at prescribing contraceptives at the start of the menstrual cycles, why are we not handling the end of that very well? We need to do better. And I love the response, GP’s are ready to learn”.
Ms Abbott is determined to make change and see health statistics drop in the Latrobe Valley.
“I’m competitive, and I’m absolutely determined to make a change to Latrobe’s statistics, even if it’s a one person show,” she said.
“I will make us the second, then the third, then the fourth unhealthiest place in Australia. I’m going to climb down that ladder even if I have to do it alone”.
“I really love the people where I live and I want to make a big difference, and there’s so much opportunity to do that.”
As Ms Abbott continues to advocate for the expansion of home services, she sends this message to the government.
“Let me see as many patients as I can fit into a month, please government. And fund me to bulk bill them. People shouldn’t pay for this, it should be equal healthcare”.
