Life can change in a matter of minutes. We are fully aware of it. What was normal and safe in the past is forbidden and dangerous now. The enemy is here, hospitals are overwhelmed, and health heroes have started the battle. But there are some heroes nobody talks about: hospital pharmacists (HP).
We want to express our thanks to HP, heroes in the shadow, for their commitment to the fight against COVID-19.
December 2019, bad news comes from China. At that time, the problem struck us as someone else's problem, just “one more flu”. Now, we wish things had been otherwise. But COVID-19 hit our hospitals, our lives.
Hospitals started to be stretched beyond capacity, life in pharmacy services was a constant coming and going. These are days of continuous change, instability, and overwork. It is an unusual, demanding situation that we have to face even if we don't know how to do it. These are long days, our workload has doubled, sometimes without adequate protection material, and we are starting to waver. But here we are, resisting. We are in a continuous search for improving the efficacy of hospital pharmacies: protocols are modified daily. We try to procure medicines in shortage, ensure that they do not “disappear” as soon as they become available, prepare individualized doses, and revise posologies and drug-to-drug interactions of new drugs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have prepared liters and liters of hydroalcoholic solution to supply our hospital. We have implanted telepharmacy to protect and help our patients as far as possible. All this, in an atmosphere of mass hysteria. But fear is not an option. We are here to go all-out, although our work is not always visible.
Times goes by, patients are admitted, but they do not always bring their medication for COVID-19. This is our foremost concern. The process for the procurement of COVID-19 medications is complex, and we do not always get what we need. The ward staff is always nervous, and it's usually pharmacy's fault. But HPs are resourceful people and, despite our laboratories have turned into a “distillery” and our phone lines are busy with outpatient consultations, we do whatever it is necessary to ensure our patients receive their medicines. This is the way we are. The health of our patients motivates us to keep on fighting. And at the end, in the face of adversity, we will emerge stronger as health professionals and as the great team we are. We have realized that hospitals are nothing without their pharmacy, that we are valuable and have a lot to contribute.
We are a team, we add value now more than even. Working together means succeeding together, as we have demonstrated during this public health crisis. We are proud of belonging to the great team of hospital pharmacy professionals. For all this, my dear hospital pharmacists, thanks, thousands of thanks.
