Mr Smith, aged 91 years old, came to meet with us in our office because he was confused about the shared care arrangements between his private consultant and his local GP for prostate cancer injections. This had already been delayed by 6 months due to his case being passed back and forth between the two doctors and he needed the injections because the tablets were not effective enough. We spoke with the clinical pharmacist at the GP practice who explained that shared care arrangements for this particular drug were different between Greater Manchester and Lancashire and South Cumbria which was why the GP could not commence treatment locally on the NHS. It was resolved that the private consultant would administer the first dose and after this, treatment would be carried out by Mr Wilkinson’s GP.
During this investigation, it was discovered that there were no Lancashire and South Cumbria shared care guidelines for this particular drug. This has now been rectified as a result and did not impact on Mr Smith’s care.