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Episode 1 - The secret of pill swallowing
Sister Ailsa Pickering, a specialist nurse working with infectious diseases in paediatrics, and Dr Emma Lim, consultant paediatrician at the Great North Children’s Hospital, discuss the practical side of learning to swallow tablets early on in life and how achieving this skill allows the patient some control over their health. Ailsa describes the steps in teaching a patient how to swallow pills and provides three top tips for success.
Episode 2 - Quality improvement and the meaning of life
Dr Yincent Tse, a children’s kidney doctor with an interest in quality improvement, talks about the benefits of pill swallowing in relation to financial cost comparisons between liquid and pill medicines and the benefits/simplicity for everyone involved when patients are able to take pills.
Episode 3 - The secret life of pharmacists
Nicola Vasey, lead pharmacist at the Great North Children’s Hospital, discusses the role of pharmacists in pill swallowing. The cost saving outcomes were viewed as one positive effect of the project and changing university and student curriculums to involve pill swallowing was proposed as the next best step for ensuring training in pill swallowing continues.
Episode 4 - Daniel's story
Daniel was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, an autoimmune disease. After several months in hospital, he moved from only using liquid medications to taking tablet forms. Daniel describes how he was taught to swallow pills, provides top tips on how, as the patient, you can accomplish this and notes the benefits of being able to take tablets.