Working Life: Muriel Pate, medication safety specialist pharmacist

Muriel Pate, medication safety specialist pharmacist, HSE National Quality Improvement

6.45am: I’m usually woken by our dog when he sees the local fox on our garden wall.

Breakfast is coffee and cereal, then I wake my two daughters (ages 11 and 13) and make sure they are organised for the day.

8.10am: I’ve started cycling to work for the first time this summer. It’s downhill in the morning, although not so good going home.

8.40am: I grab a coffee and check in with our team and emails. My current priority is a new HSE medication safety campaign ‘Know, Check, Ask’. It aims to encourage people who use regular medicines to know more about their medicines and to ask their pharmacist, doctor or nurse if they have questions. One very useful, practical step for people is to keep an up-to-date list of their medicines and to take it to all healthcare appointments.

9.30am: Team meeting for ‘Know, Check, Ask’. We’ve just had a national launch, and have been working with the Irish Pharmacy Union so that ‘My medicines’ lists are available in all pharmacies nationally.

11am: Fruit and coffee to keep me going.

11.30am: Teleconference with Mayo University Hospital to discuss our new campaign.

1.30pm: Lunch is usually a sandwich and fruit, and a chat with colleagues or a quick walk around the block.

2pm: Updating our website www.safermeds.ie so anyone can print a copy of the ‘My medicines’ list and get further information.

4pm: Review current plans for the management of medicines as part of the electronic health record. It is early stages, but exciting to be able to contribute to future developments.

5.30pm: I try and get home by 6pm for a quick lap of the park with our dog. I love doing our local 5km parkrun on Saturday mornings.

My husband gets home after 7pm so we eat dinner quite late, tonight it’s chilli. We try to keep all screens off before the girls go to bed, which usually involves trampolining and playing with the dog.

10pm: Bit of TV, then off to bed with a book. I’m currently enjoying Normal People by Sally Rooney.