The pharmacy team is comprised of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy assistants, and clerical staff who are split between multiple services and specialties. These services and specialties all play an essential role in delivering pharmacy services across our Trust sites.

The Pharmacy teams include:

Please see below for further information on some of the services provided at the Trust.

Inpatient dispensing

The inpatient dispensary teams at York and Scarborough provide a service to all wards, departments, clinics, and outside units belonging to the Trusts. 

All prescribed medicines are clinically checked by a pharmacist or authorised by a competent member of the medicines management team before they can be processed by the dispensary team. 

Clinically checked or authorised prescription requests are received electronically in the dispensary through an electronic prescribing and administration system (ePMA). Prescription requests received are prioritised according to urgency, dispensed, and then accuracy checked by suitably qualified and competent members of the team before then being delivered to the ward, clinic or department.

Medicines that are provided from the dispensary go through this robust process to ensure that the right medicine reaches the right patient at the right time.

Outpatient dispensing

The outpatient pharmacy at York Hospital is run by Lloyds Pharmacy.  In addition to processing outpatient prescriptions, Lloyds Pharmacy offers a range of products, including over the counter medicines.

At Scarborough Hospital, medicines are prescribed on FP10 prescription forms during outpatient appointments; these prescription forms must be dispensed by a community pharmacy. If the medication is a hospital-only item, it will be prescribed on a Trust outpatient prescription, dispensed via the inpatient dispensary.

Outpatient prescriptions at both sites are dispensed in order of receipt, while you or your representative waits. Prescriptions can also be left with the pharmacy department for collection at a later time or date. It may also be possible to have the prescription dispensed or collected from an alternative Trust site - please discuss this with a member of the pharmacy team.

Both Lloyds Pharmacy and the hospital inpatient dispensaries at York and Scarborough hospitals are unable to dispense FP10 prescription forms or hospital prescriptions from other hospital Trusts.

Medicines management and clinical team

The medicines management and clinical team are responsible for providing a clinical pharmacy service to the wards at York, Scarborough, and Bridlington hospitals. They operate a patient-centred approach to ensure that individuals are able to get the most out of their medicines.

The medicines management and clinical team are responsible for:

• Completing medicines reconciliation for admitted patients – ensuring that all regular medications are accounted for and remain appropriate.
• Assessing medicines that patients have brought from home for use on the ward.
• Counselling patients on newly prescribed medications.
• Ordering and authorising medication supplies if an individual is admitted as an inpatient.
• Clinically checking discharge prescriptions to ensure that accurate information is sent to patients’ GPs.
• If needed, referring patients for support on discharge from a community pharmacist.

The medicines management and clinical team also provides a service to the outside units in the Trust as part of the community response team (CRT) which supports patients in their own homes following discharge.

Aseptics

The Aseptic unit is based at York Hospital; it is a purpose-built facility which prepares a wide range of injectable medicines for both inpatients and outpatients on all Trust sites.

Injectable medicines are prepared in a sterile cleanroom which ensures all products are free from contamination. The aseptic team work alongside other healthcare professionals, such as clinicians and specialist nurses, to support a wide range of patient needs. This includes preparations like chemotherapy, Monoclonal Antibodies (MABs), clinical trials, and other bespoke intravenous products such as antibiotics.

The cleanroom consists of specialist manufacturing zones which house pharmaceutical isolators. These isolators create an airtight barrier between the operator and product, which enables us to prepare a comprehensive range of products to exacting standards, free from contamination.

The environment is continuously monitored and the unit is reviewed annually by external auditors to ensure quality standards are maintained.