A team of pharmacists, technicians, assistants, clerical and ancillary staff work to provide a service throughout the Trust. Our aim is to assess your medication on admission then monitor treatment and supply appropriate medication both during your stay and on discharge.

Pharmacists provide clinical checks of all dispensed medication including liaison with the prescriber and the ward, where necessary. Drug charts for inpatient use are appropriately annotated to increase therapeutic benefit with warnings and any relevant additional information.

Prescriptions are checked for their appropriateness in both therapeutic terms and in dose, frequency and duration (especially for antibiotics). Counseling is provided for certain medication where deemed necessary.

The dispensary provides all the medicines used in the hospital and outpatient clinics. Our aim is to dispense your prescription as safely, accurately and as quickly as we can. 

Your medication from home during an inpatient stay

It is very important that all patients bring their own medicines into hospital. It will help the doctors, nurses and pharmacy staff to take an accurate record of your current treatment and allows for continuity of treatment.

Your medication will be assessed for suitability of use while in hospital and then placed in your individual bed side locker. It will not be used by anyone else other than you during your stay.

When the doctor has decided you are ready to go home they will prescribe the medicines you need to take home with you. Your medicines from home will then be checked by nursing or pharmacy staff to ensure no changes in treatment have occurred and there is enough supply.

Any new medicines, changes in treatment or further supplies will be provided by the hospital. Medicines provided in hospital and on discharge are provided free. Discharge medicine is usually supplied for up to a maximum period of one month.

We aim to have discharge medicines ready for collection from pharmacy within 90 minutes upon receipt of the discharge prescription.

Outpatients

Only specific outpatient clinics and certain previously agreed prescriptions will be dispensed at the hospital pharmacy, all others should be dispensed in the community. Outpatients have one prescription charge payable per item unless you are exempt. Please bring any exemption certificates with you. A one month supply is the usual maximum supply. We aim to dispense outpatients within 20minutes but can be longer when several clinics are running.

Other services

Medicines Information

We provide a range of services to health care professionals including information regarding doses, interactions, adverse drug reactions, safety of drugs in pregnancy, or impaired renal or hepatic function and all aspects of medicine use.

Production

Some medicines need to be made in the hospital for example where medicines are made under sterile conditions such as chemotherapy and TPN (Total parenteral Nutrition- a liquid feed given into a vein for patients unable to eat for long periods) or medicines that have a short expiry or that are not made by any manufacturer.