Welcome to the Lincolnshire Prescribing and Clinical Effectiveness (PACE) website.

We are a small and friendly team of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, a data specialist, and a project team based within NHS Lincolnshire ICB. 

Our team encompasses a broad skill mix, having many years of experience between us and a breadth of knowledge across all aspects of pharmacy and prescribing, including; commissioning, secondary care, community pharmacy, GP and dispensing practices.

NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) was founded on 1st July 2022, and was formerly known as the NHS Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). This CCG was a merger of the former locality CCGs (South, South West, East and West).

The ICB is responsible for commissioning, or buying, the majority of healthcare services for the population of Lincolnshire.

NHS Lincolnshire ICB’s goal is to ensure that everyone living in Lincolnshire has the best possible health and wellbeing they can and to improve the quality and experience of services so that the population can live happier, healthier lives.

Lincolnshire Prescribing and Clinical Effectiveness Forum (PACEF) was founded in 2007. It is the current strategic advisory network to NHS Lincolnshire ICB. PACEF has the responsibility for ensuring the cost-effective use of medicines and other healthcare interventions and their functional integration into healthcare delivery across Lincolnshire.  

Representation on the group is comprised of leading professionals from the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, primary care, the local Acute Trusts (United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust), Lincolnshire Community Health Services, Local Medical Council and Local Pharmaceutical Council.

The new prescribing website will publish all bulletins and guidance approved by PACEF.

Lincolnshire's system vision is to ensure the local population is supported by robust, safe prescribing & dispensing practices to manage health and care needs. The system programme will drive out variation, standardise practice & use innovative models of delivery to improve clinical quality of care, safety and efficiency. This programme will also focus on developing pharmacy services to meet local need & a workforce fit for the future, working with partners across the field including commercial, industrial & education. 

The Lincolnshire system will create an integrated model for managing and optimising the use of medicines to support the emerging Integrated Care System in Lincolnshire, building on mature relationships developed in delivering this programme since 2017.

Why is the system working needed?

Pharmacy services and prescribing practice inform and effect a considerable proportion of patient pathways and contacts with the NHS. The opportunities for pharmacy and prescribing to influence the strategic and operational direction and delivery has been noted in a number of published documents since the conception of STPs and integrated health and care systems. From Lord Carter’s review of efficiency in the NHS to the Five Year Forward View, the NHS Long Term Plan follows this same path and highlights a number of priorities for pharmacy:

• To take a prominent role in prevention and self-care through extended community pharmacy services and a focus on obesity, smoking, alcohol and air pollution
• To reduce health inequalities by providing equity of access to treatment, advice and support
• To develop and diversify the NHS workforce by creating and supporting new roles, extending skills and increasing the skill set of other professions through specialist training and clinical advice services
• To introduce the role of pharmacists into new care settings where medication issues are frequently a demand on services such as general practice, care homes and urgent care
• To optimise the use of medicines for individuals through sharing and application of best practice, antimicrobial stewardship and structured medication reviews
• Through medicines optimisation, to create efficiency and savings for the local system