We caught up with the Pharmacist/Pharmacy Team of the Year Award shortlist ahead of this year’s General Practice Awards ceremony to be held on 6 December at the Novotel London West.

Nazir Hussain, specialist respiratory pharmacist, is making significant strides in improving respiratory care in the community with a ‘one-stop’ respiratory clinic.

Working with the Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust, Nazir’s clinic addresses health inequalities with a patient-centred approach to provide timely diagnosis and care. Rather than following a reactive, episodic care approach, Nazier instead focuses on prevention and personalised treatment. This model has demonstrated improved patient experience and access, becoming a blueprint for care adopted regionally and shared nationally.

At the core of this success is multidisciplinary collaboration, where Nazir’s skill set and dedication have been instrumental. His clinical leadership, combined with a compassionate and proactive approach, has had a direct and measurable impact on patient outcomes.

Nazir’s clinic allows early and accurate diagnosis for asthma and COPD patients, reducing the long wait times often experienced for respiratory outpatient appointments. His approach has enabled patients to begin treatment faster, leading to better disease management and reducing emergency interventions. The clinic also empowers patients with self-management tools, which help them recognise and address exacerbations early, before any further deterioration.

Nazir actively targets high-risk patients through population health data, focusing on those most at risk of hospital admission. He has secured a FeNO machine from the West Midlands Health and Academic Science Network FeNO Pilot, which has enhanced the speed and accuracy of asthma diagnoses, allowing patients to start the correct treatment immediately.

Nazir’s links with regional specialists have enabled fast access to biologic treatments for severe asthma patients, reducing waiting times from 12 months to just under a month.

His commitment to improving patient outcomes is evident in other results, too: in a 12-month period, his clinic provided early and accurate diagnoses for 83 asthma and 29 COPD patients, potentially preventing over 200 hospital visits. He identified and rectified misdiagnoses for eight patients, helping them avoid unnecessary treatment. Some 69 patients were prescribed treatments to manage concurrent comorbidities, five patients suspected of sleep apnoea were referred to the local sleep service, and 137 patients had poor inhaler technique corrected to improve disease control.

The clinic has also reduced GP workloads by diagnosing patients earlier, cutting the need for multiple consultations. Nazir’s presence as an in-house specialist has simplified referrals and improved the efficiency of care.

One GP partner noted: ‘This service has been excellent. Not only has there been a seamless ease of access facilitated by Nazir, but it has enabled us rapid access to the appropriate investigations and diagnoses have been made or clarified which have led to direct improved patient outcomes.’

Nazir’s work has also received resounding praise from patients, with one expressing relief at receiving an asthma diagnosis in a week after waiting over a year for answers.

Nazir himself admits to being ‘so proud’ of the work he has done to improve the lives of respiratory patients.

He says: ‘It's been an immensely rewarding journey for me. I hope to inspire my peers to join me and make a difference by sharing my passion and expertise.’

Offering further advice, he adds: ‘Don't wait for the opportunity. Create it’.