Today Sapphire Medical Clinics launches ‘The Sapphire Institute for Medical Cannabis Education’ with the aim of educating healthcare professionals and patients on medical cannabis. This ground breaking initiative provides the first free comprehensive platform for medical cannabis education in the UK and was established in response to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) evidence review committee recommendation highlighting the need for specific training of healthcare professionals in cannabis-based medicines*.
The Sapphire Institute for Medical Cannabis Education is a comprehensive educational platform with activities ranging from CPD-accredited didactic teaching to interactive web-based learning and clinical networking opportunities, with additional specific content for patients. Free membership of the Sapphire Institute for Medical Cannabis Education is offered to healthcare professionals and will grant access to a series of online webinars and e-learning modules. These cover the latest evidence for treatment with medical cannabis across a range of conditions, dosing and monitoring, modes of administration and key case study examples. The Institute has already held five successful online webinars, all of which will be freely available to members. Topics include Medical Cannabis for Pain, Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders and its role in Palliative Care.
The Institute is proud to announce partnerships with Cannabis Patient Advocacy & Support Services (CPASS), and PLEA: Patient Led Engagement for Access to enable access to free education to a wider group of stakeholders.
Dr Mikael Sodergren, Managing Director and Academic Lead of Sapphire Medical Clinics said ‘Our education programme provides healthcare professionals with essential knowledge and insight into medical cannabis and its potential uses. We know from a recent YouGov poll that 6.7million adults in the UK would like to discuss cannabis-based treatment options with their healthcare teams. We want clinicians to feel confident about when and how to talk to their patients about medical cannabis.’
Carl Holvey, Patient Lead and Chief Pharmacist at Sapphire Medical Clinics added ‘Patients already face barriers when they consider treatment with medical cannabis such as stigma and failed conventional therapy, we have to remove the lack of education amongst our medical profession as one of these barriers’.
Professor Ann Lloyd Keen RN, FQNI NDN FRCN FAAN, Fellow of Royal College of Nursing and former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health Services added “Congratulations to Sapphire Institute for Medicinal Cannabis Education. It is so important that the Health Care Team comes together to share evidence-based knowledge for the good of all patients. I so look forward to being part of this progressive clinic to enable all of my colleagues within the wider health care setting to learn alongside each other.”
Find out more and register by clicking here.
* https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng144/documents/evidence-review-10
