Pharmacy & Medicines Management

Will I have to pay?

Normal prescription charges apply to all medicines dispensed for NHS out-patients. If you are entitled to free prescriptions you are asked to sign the prescription and show proof of exemption.

The dispensary provides medicines for patients admitted to the hospital (inpatients) and those issued prescriptions during their clinic visits (outpatients). The department also has several “satellite” pharmacies across the hospital which supply medicines for hospital inpatients.

Upon discharge, all patients are issued with between 14 and 28 days supply of medicines.

Patients attending outpatient clinics, who are issued a prescription, will be given an initial supply of up to 28 days from the hospital pharmacy for any items that are required urgently.

We are committed to continually innovating how we provide pharmacy services to the trust and beyond. We have an extensive implementation of electronic prescribing (EPMA) and utilise this to prioritise the clinical agenda.

Our ward-based teams provide a robust service with a focus on Medicines Safety and Optimisation. Pharmacy teams deliver a crucial role as part of the MDT and are highly valued across the trust.

We have a mature ward technician team that is focused on delivering safe and efficient services. Innovative roles for pharmacy assistants are also being developed to better integrate pharmacy services into the teams.

The use of technology at the ward level is central to our service. EPMA allows us to target clinical pharmacy resources, saving time and allowing us to focus where we are most needed. Ward-based automation is allowing us to drive efficiencies in ward medicine use and provide safer processes for medicine administration.

We are one of the leading trusts nationally for the number of active prescribing pharmacists. This has allowed us to create innovative ward-based roles and the development of advanced practitioner roles.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital’s Aseptic Manufacturing Unit holds a Specials Manufacturing License and therefore is Regulated by the Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The department consists of two new (2018), purposely built, clean room suites in which Central Intravenous Additive Services (CIVAS) and Cytotoxic Chemotherapy (CYTOs) are prepared using isolator technology.

These products may include: 

• Prefilled syringes
• Infusion bags
• Infusion devices – elastomeric pumps
• Patient controlled analgesia
• Bladder instillations

These specialist formulations must be manufactured with special care and attention to detail to ensure the highest possible product quality, with the objective of excluding the introduction of all microbial and particulate contamination.  These products are administered to seriously ill patients by injection, sometimes over a period of time. This route bypasses most of the body’s natural defences to infection, necessitating a lack of contamination. Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines and training give assurance that quality is built into all working procedures to produce products that are fit for purpose.

We have a dedicated team, consisting of Pharmacy Technicians and Assistant Technicians who are focused on delivering safe and efficient services.  All staff are subject to extensive training covering the principles of Aseptic Processing and Environmental and Physical monitoring. This training is ongoing to ensure compliance with ever-changing regulatory standards.

Our team of specialist pharmacists provide clinical advice and support to all healthcare professionals across the Trust. This includes advice on the safe and effective use of medication. 

Our ‘Medicines Helpline’ service is designed to assist patients and their carers by answering their questions related to medication received from the hospital and to provide any additional support (see details below).    Medicines Helpline 

Contact  us on 01246 512153 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) for medication-related advice for medicines collected from the hospital such as:

• How and when to take your medicines
• Side effects due to recently started medicines
• Clarification on medication changes after discharge

For information on what we keep or any medication we may owe you, please contact the pharmacy dispensary (01246 512152 / 57).

We have a diverse range of specialist pharmacist roles that have been established through our commitment to developing clinical pharmacy. Specialist clinical roles deliver services to haematology/oncology, medical specialities, ED, nutrition and anticoagulation.

Pharmacy input to the antibiotic stewardship team is instrumental in delivering local and national agendas. The use of technology through the use of an antibiotic formulary application has been successful in ensuring appropriate prescribing.

Although the hospital is an average-sized district general hospital our trainees can experience a wide range of specialties and undertake some of the novel roles we have developed. Trainees receive supervision and development opportunities to help in becoming high-quality professionals. We are keen to grow our own staff so are committed to providing a training experience that will allow us to develop the next generation of innovators who can continue to take the service forward.