By Asomaniwaa Owusu-Ansah, Erith Pharmaceuticals and Health Services Ltd, Accra, Ghana

Since 2016, Erith Health Services has distributed safety equipment to cancer centers; equipment that are intended to provide personal protection to health professionals who handle chemotherapy medicines to significantly minimize risks associated with exposure. Our core solution: to improve cancer treatment outcomes by improving the conditions under which health workers prepare, administer and dispose off chemotherapy. 

It was the morning of Tuesday, March 31, 2020, I woke up to prepare for work as usual. I got ready and set out in my car at about 7:30am to arrive the hospital within the usual 20 minutes drive. I live in a satellite town, outskirt of the capital city of Nigeria (Abuja). I had barely driven for five minutes when I met a military check point with many vehicles in a long queue, taking turns to be cleared, before continuing their journey. 

By Lynne Nakashima, BSc(Pharm), PharmD, FCAPhO, Provincial Pharmacy Director, BC Cancer
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the entire world in just a short time.  The impacts have been enormous and far reaching!  For the world of Pharmacy, it thrust us into the spotlight, as front-line workers, both in retail and hospital sectors where most of the Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and Assistants work in front line positions, caring for patients.

In light of Covid-19 there have been some mitigation strategies implemented either nationally or within local hospitals. As a group of clinical academics based at University College London we are interested in understanding the approach your institution has taken regarding the care of cancer patients, in terms of the policies/practice regulations which have been issued and how these have been translated into practice. We believe you can help shed light on this.