| Colin Hardman |
 Colin Hardman describes his early years as a Pharmacy student from 1969 at Portsmouth Polytechnic, now Portsmouth University;
and as a Pharmacist trainee at Withington Hospital in Manchester, his home town. His involvement with cancer and palliative
care started in 1975 when he was appointed to the post of Pharmacist in Charge at the Christie Hospital, Manchester, a regional
and international cancer treatment centre. Colin Hardman describes the involvement of his team with the hospice service and
refers to the use of the Brompton Cocktail, a mixture of morphine, cocaine, and chlorpromazine, alcohol such as gin or vodka,
and flavouring ingredients. He also recalls that soluble tablets of diamorphine and intramuscular injections of morphine were
the only alternative formulations available for patients unable to take oral medications. He describes 1970s cancer hospital
settings, the handling of information for cancer patients, patients’ attitudes towards diagnosis and treatments, and professionals’
attitudes towards end of life care, pain relief and the use of strong opioids. In 1977, the first Medical Director of St Barnabas
Hospice in Lincoln invited Colin Hardman to join him on hospice ward rounds and this was his first real exposure to palliative
care. This was also a period when pharmacists were becoming increasingly recognised by their medical colleagues and were sharing
knowledge and information with other health professionals. He reflects on the virtues of palliative care as an expression
of real multidisciplinary team work and describes his current role as a pharmacist engaged on clinical and educative activities
in hospice and hospital settings. He describes the way his job has changed with the introduction into medical practice of
new technologies, such as the syringe driver and different formulations which are simpler and easier to prepare, to administer,
and to explain their use to patients and health professionals. However, they are also more highly complex than in the past.
The increasing complexity of medical treatments has led pharmacists to play an important role as advisers of medical practice.
Colin Hardman discusses training opportunities for pharmacists and the lack of chances for specialised training in palliative
care and he mentions the influence of pharmaceutical companies on current treatment options, availability and culture. Finally,
he describes his other professional activities such as involvement in the Palliative Care Committee for the Mid-Trent Cancer
Centre; in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain that oversees and registers all pharmacists; in the local branch
of this Society providing postgraduate education to pharmacist members; and research involvement with the Academic Palliative
Care Unit, Sheffield. He concludes by outlining his views for the future of the discipline and its future role in health care
practice.
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| Interview conducted by Silvia Paz, 23 May 2002 |
| Interview Duration: 69 minutes |
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