Pharmacy

St George’s pharmacy department provides and supervises the use of all medicines prescribed within the Trust. This key role, known as medicines management, begins with coordinating the way in which medicines are selected, purchased and delivered to the hospital. It includes overseeing the way that they are prescribed and given to patients and means reviewing each patient’s prescription regularly to ensure medicines are being used in the best way. The pharmacy department also manufactures bespoke medicines on site, improving access to specialist medicines for patients.

The pharmacy department provides a 24/7 service to patients with high standards of care reflected in its regular high scores for performance audited on a national and local basis.

Clinical pharmacy teams, consisting of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, provide advice to those prescribing medicines throughout the hospital to ensure that patients receive the best quality treatment for their care. They also provide advice to patients on how to best use their medicines. All patients have their medication reviewed and adjusted for optimal therapy and all wards are visited daily. Cutting edge pharmacy practice developed at St George’s has been presented at national conferences.

A dedicated medicines information facility, based in the main pharmacy in Lanesborough Wing, provides support for healthcare staff and patients who have questions about medicines. Staff and patients phone the centre, which has a telephone helpline for patients.

Dispensary staff members provide advice and ensure that prescriptions are dispensed efficiently and accurately.

The department’s purchasing team ensures that medicines are purchased at the best prices available and that the quality and availability of products are maintained. The department takes part in many clinical trials to research the use of new medicines or new ways of using existing ones.

Pharmacy staff ensure the safe use and storage of medicines wherever they are used in the Trust

Patient representatives attend meetings of the patient experience group. The role of the representatives is to oversee the processes that are in place to maintain good clinical governance and protect the interests of patients.

Map of St George’s Hospital

Formulary and NICE technology appraisals

The St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust formulary is managed by South West London Joint Formulary Committee (JFC). The JFC is a multi-disciplinary team with representation from primary and secondary care. The JFC has a robust system for the evaluation of new medicines and assessment of therapeutic practices, guidelines and policies.

All medicines are assessed by the committee for their efficacy, safety, cost effectiveness and patient acceptability prior to being approved for use within the trust as well as across South West London. Any medicines with a governance or safety concern will be reflected onto the formulary accordingly.

For further information, please click below.

South West London Formulary (swljointmedicinesformulary.nhs.uk)