Pharmacy

The department provides a

comprehensive range of pharmacy services for patients of Ealing Hospital. Services are also provided to other local units including the following:

West London Mental HealthTrust
Clayponds Hospital
Meadow House
Ealing community clinics 

Location and facilities

The main pharmacy department is located on Level 2 near the out-patients department. The HIV dispensary is situated in the Pasteur Suite on level 8 and the pharmacy store is on level 1.

As a result of recent refurbishment, all areas of the department are bright, airy and well-maintained. The manufacturing unit and the pharmacy stores are licensed by the medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency.

Opening hours

• 8.30am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday

• Emergency service for dispensing from 11.00am to 1.30pm Saturdays, Sundays and all public holidays (except Christmas day)

• An on-call pharmacist is accessible by long-range bleep through switchboard in emergencies.

Services offered

The department offers a full range of hospital pharmacy services including the following:

• Dispensing
  Medicine supply to in-patients, out-patients and patients being discharged from hospital

• Manufacturing
  Preparation of medicines not commercially available including chemotherapy, intravenous injections and feeding solutions, and ointments.

• Medicines information
  Provision of information about medicines to doctors, nurses, pharmacists and patients within and outside the trust.

• Purchasing, stores and distribution of medicines
  Ordering and supply of medicines to all areas of the hospital.

• Clinical pharmacy
  Clinical pharmacists promote the safe and appropriate use of medicines for all patients in all areas. Many of these activities are ward-based and we have specialist teams in infectious diseases/HIV and Mental Health.

• Re-engineered pharmacy services
  Comprehensive patient pharmacy service including dispensing for discharge and ward-based pharmacy technicians. Patients should always bring their medicines to hospital to help with this service.

The pharmacy team

There are approximately 60 staff in the team, equally split between pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other support staff.

The department places a great emphasis on training and development. We have a strong track record of training pre-registration pharmacists and student pharmacy technicians.

The well-structured clinical pharmacy training programme includes an in-house accredited certificate in pharmacy practice.  Pharmacists are encouraged to proceed to Diploma/MSc level. Other training activities are identified according to individual development needs.

Outpatient dispensing

Medicines that are urgently required and those that will be difficult to obtain via the GP will be supplied from the hospital pharmacy following an outpatient appointment. Patients should bring evidence of any exemptions from prescription charges when attending the hospital pharmacy.

Routine and non-urgent medication should be obtained from a community pharmacy using a prescription written by the GP. A referral letter for the GP will be given to the patient in the outpatient clinic. It may take a few days for the GP to produce a prescription but this should not concern patients as all urgently-needed medicines are provided from the hospital.