Hat Trick Winners at the FRCR Awards!

1 December 2025

Velindre Pharmacy and Virtual Assessment Patient (VAP) colleagues have achieved an incredible milestone, securing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in this year’s FRCR Research, Improvement and Innovation Awards (Non-Medical Category).

First prize went to Sarah Goman, Pharmacy Technician, for her outstanding project: “Enhancing Patient Safety and Clinic Efficiency: A Pharmacy Technician-Led Blood and Blood Pressure Monitoring Service for Niraparib Initiation – A Retrospective Review.”.

Her work highlights how pharmacy-led initiatives can improve patient safety and streamline clinical processes. To manage the increased clinic workload from weekly monitoring of patients starting Niraparib, Pharmacy Technicians conducted these checks during the three-week gap between treatment cycles. They also assessed treatment-related toxicity and provided education at initiation. This approach improved patient safety by promptly identifying adverse effects like myelosuppression and hypertension, enhanced clinic efficiency by freeing appointment slots, and expanded the role of Pharmacy Technicians.

Second Prize was awarded to the VAP Service, led by Tej Quine, for its innovative Virtual Assessment Patient (VAP) service - a pre-SACT assessment model managed and delivered by nurses and pharmacy technicians. This service is transforming how patients are assessed before systemic anti-cancer therapy. The VAP Service is a unique to Velindre Cancer Centre - being both multi-cancer site and multi-disciplinary - and has carried out over 24,000 pre-SACT assessments to date.

Joint Third Prize went to Patryk Poniatowski, Principal Pharmacist, for two impactful projects:

• “Small Change, Big Impact – Automating Demographics in SACT ePMA to Streamline the Medicines at Home Service", which demonstrated the semi-automation of the Medicines at Home registration form, allowing trained dispensary staff to complete sign-ups with patients at the hatch in real time.
• “Automating ChemoCare Read-Only Training Implementation and Service Evaluation.”, which presented the use of a read-only specific LMS365 e-learning pathway to replace classroom-based training. This allowed busy staff complete their ChemoCare read-only training whenever and wherever it suited them.

Reflecting on the team’s success, Bethan, Chief Pharmacist, said:

“I am incredibly proud of the team. Each award winner demonstrates our commitment to improving patient experience, ensuring service efficiencies, and innovating for tomorrow.”

We’re so proud of our colleagues for showcasing Velindre’s commitment to continuously evolving our services to deliver the very best care for patients. Congratulations team!