Mark Borthwick
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markborthwick.bsky.social
Mark Borthwick
@markborthwick.bsky.social
Critical care pharmacist; what’s your poison….?
I get why people resign from positions of authority when organisation/leadership goes down the wrong path (yes, looking at the RFK vaccine nonsense)

BUT

Who do you think replaces the leavers? A similarly minded person, or someone more allied to those views?

We give way, and so facilitate
August 29, 2025 at 8:03 AM
June 17, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Whole day was great
UKCPA Critical Care Symposium
@ukcpa.bsky.social
June 6, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Reposted by Mark Borthwick
Jonathan presents the UK respiratory metagenomics implementation, route to routine. @ukcpa.bsky.social was great 👍
June 6, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Reposted by Mark Borthwick
Just a week to go until the launch of the NCEPOD report Recovery Beyond Survival - a review of the quality of rehabilitation care provided to patients following an admission to an ICU.

Register now to for the lunchtime webinar on 12 June👇

bit.ly/NCEPODwebinar
Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams
Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams
bit.ly
June 6, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Have stress ulcer prophylaxis practices changed in the UK since the publication of PEPTIC?

Yes, but highly likely nothing to do with PEPTIC

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Stress ulcer prophylaxis practice in UK critical care units: A comparison of cross-sectional surveys between 2020 and 2024 - Mark Borthwick, Greg Barton, Emma Boxall, John P Dade, Odran Farrell, Ruth ...
Background: Critically ill patients are at risk of bleeding from stress ulcers. Comprehensive information regarding United Kingdom stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP...
journals.sagepub.com
May 27, 2025 at 7:31 PM
#COVID5years

Quotes that made us laugh in the moment are added to a whiteboard

My niece asks pertinent questions for a school project
May 24, 2025 at 1:32 PM
#COVID5years
Impromptu hugs between nursing staff before a shift in the critical care covid bays
May 18, 2025 at 1:18 PM
#COVID5years

A little ‘thank you’ light show is projected onto the hospital

Parallels are made between the Nightingale facility nearing completion, and pandemic flu facilities 100years earlier

We start collecting handprints from our ICU workers
May 3, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by Mark Borthwick
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Dear Intensive pharmacist, please complete our short international survey . This one for pharmacists, more coming for pharmacy team, including pharmacy technicians #bepartofresearch @markborthwick.bsky.social @chrisremmington.bsky.social and team
A Review of Clinical Pharmacy Services in Adult Intensive Care Units: An International Cross-Sectional Study
Dear colleagues, We invite you to participate in our survey, "A Review of Clinical Pharmacy Services in Adult Intensive Care Units: An International Cross-Sectional Study," conducted by researchers fr...
docs.google.com
May 2, 2025 at 6:27 AM
#COVID5years
PIPA going strong
Clinical trials aseptic unit making hundreds of propofol and NMB syringes each day
Clinical pharmacy services to crit care now 7 days a week, 12hours a day
April 23, 2025 at 9:08 PM
#COVID5years
Renal replacement fluid supplies now under pressure, and start to be micromanaged
Regular counts commence to report back to NHS central, we write on anything handy
April 15, 2025 at 5:11 PM
#COVID5years
Neuro ICU takes all general ICU work, other expanded/specialist units take covid patients
PIPA in full flow
Clinical trials mass produce propofol and atracurium syringes

Nationally:
Propofol supply begins to wobble
Epoprostenol demand surges and detabilises supply
April 14, 2025 at 9:13 PM
#COVID5years
A more robust near patient IV prep area is developed - Pharmacy Intravenous Preparation Area (*PIPA*)

Staff trained in IV making and ANTT in a medical school facility
Nurses, medical students, pharmacy technicians, pharmacists collaborate

Critical care surges into cardiothoracics
April 11, 2025 at 4:49 PM
#COVID5years
After the IV making service falls over, a new collaboration gets it on its feet again
Outpatient areas are earmarked for an expanded service, shielding nurses and medical students are added to the initiative
More critical care areas are converted to covid bays
April 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
#COVID5years

The near patient IV making service falls over: new staff supporting the weekend are not trained in time, the weekday staff are exhausted

Clinical trials aseptics unit start production of prefilled syringes of propofol and atracurium

Home haircuts begin
April 5, 2025 at 1:20 PM
#COVID5years
Paediatric ICU empties and hands over the space to adult critical care to make ready for further influx

The near patient IV medicines making area is pushed out of ICU as bays fill up with COVID, putting it in the “PPE only area”

New spaces are eyed up to locate the service to
April 3, 2025 at 6:54 PM
#COVID5years
Urgent planning for national medicines in critical care is underway
Nightingale hospitals soak up infusion pump supplies (amongst other equipment and resources)
“Making service” commences at OUH (this will morph into PIPA over time “Pharmacy Intravenous Prep Area”)
March 31, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Mark Borthwick
The protocol for our PHOENIX trial has been published today, evaluating the feasibility of optimised nutrition and enhanced Physiotherapy for survivors of critical illness #ICURehab bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/3...
Physiotherapy and Optimised Enteral Nutrition In the post-acute phase of critical illness (PHOENIX): protocol for a mixed methods feasibility randomised controlled trial
Introduction Each year in the UK, 140 000 patients are discharged from intensive care units (ICUs) to general hospital wards, almost all with complex rehabilitation needs. 84% of patients still requir...
bmjopen.bmj.com
March 28, 2025 at 6:31 AM
#COVID5years
Pharmacist upskilling webinars by UKCPA and RPS experience high demand (each event ran at least twice)
Businesses begin supporting NHS staff with care packages
March 26, 2025 at 6:20 PM
#COVID5years
The redeployment of pharmacists to critical care requires rapid upskilling at scale
The UKCPA and RPS pull together webinars and resources to quickly address the need
March 25, 2025 at 10:49 PM
#COVID5years
PPE training for pharmacists newly deployed to critical care
Atracurium supply comes under strain, initial plans to consider cisatracurium
Begin looking at 7day rosters
March 24, 2025 at 6:25 PM
#COVID5years
Inside, urgent planning occurred
Lightening nursing workload a key aim:
-Simplify CD process
-Prefilled syringes made in aseptics
-Individual patient doses made nearby
-COVID order sets simplify prescribing and administration timing

Outside, it was beautiful
March 23, 2025 at 11:44 AM