Pharmacy

What is LHCH Pharmacy?

LHCH Pharmacy is a diverse and highly trained team of over 60 people

24 pharmacists
20 pharmacy technicians
7 assistant technical officers
4 student technicians
3 dispensers
2 trainee pharmacists
1 personal assistant
1 receptionist
1 clinical trials assistant
1 procurement assistant

Find us in the orange zone of the hospital, between the Broadgreen & LHCH Main Reception and LHCH Outpatients – see map

What does Pharmacy do?

Traditionally, Pharmacy has been seen as a supply service – receiving prescriptions and dispensing medicines. This remains a vital service that Pharmacy provide, but now we’re much more integrated across the entire healthcare ecosystem.

We’re able to use our expert knowledge of medicines to support care that is safe, effective and efficient. We do this through a huge range of activity, some of which you will see as you access LHCH services, and some you will not.

You can see a bit of what we do in our speciality pages.

Your Medicines Matter

Outpatients

When you are seen in our outpatient department, your team may make changes to your medication
To help make this safe, it is really useful to bring along a list of your current medicines, including anything from your GP, other specialist clinics, and that you buy
This list could be homemade, a repeat slip from your GP, or through the NHS App
If your team want to start or change any medicines, they will write you an outpatient prescription, which can only be dispensed in LHCH Pharmacy
Our average dispensing time for prescriptions is 11 minutes
Pharmacy staff will counsel you on new medicines, including dose, timing, and any potential side effects to look out for
Please ask us questions about your medicines – we’re happy to help

Pre-admission visits

When planning for elective procedures, we may want to stop some medication ahead of the procedure date
To help make this safe, it is really useful to bring along a list of your current medicines, including anything from your GP, other specialist clinics, and that you buy
This list could be homemade, a repeat slip from your GP, or through the NHS App
Members of the Pharmacy team may contact you before your admission to help ensure that your transition into hospital is as trouble-free as possible

During admission

Some of your usual medicines may be stopped or changed, and we might start new medicines
It is very important to us that your medicines are discussed with you, so that you understand why you are taking them, how you should take them, and common or serious side effects to watch out for and what to do if you have any concerns or questions
You can ask anyone looking after you about medicines, but Pharmacy are on every ward every day to answer any questions you may have – please ask your nurse and we will attend

On discharge

When your team are happy for you to go home, you will usually require a discharge summary letter to be written – you may hear this being referred to as a “TTO”
The TTO contains very important information that tells your GP what has happened to you, the treatment you have received, and what medication you are now prescribed
On discharge you will receive a paper copy of the TTO and we will automatically send a copy of this to your GP
If you are an NHS England patient, and you consent, we will also send an electronic copy to your community pharmacy
It is very important that the medicines prescribed on the TTO are correct for you as patient safety is our priority
Pharmacy will check and process your TTO as soon as possible (we may even help write it, using our prescribing pharmacists), but here may be some important things that we may need to check with the team, for example
- Any medication missing or that need to be added
- Checking that the doses are correct for you
- That there are appropriate follow-up arrangements in place
- Any other questions we may have

This may mean that your TTO will take longer to process

If you would like an update on the progress of your TTO, your nurse check can on the TTO tracker and keep you informed – please ask
When your TTO has been signed off, dispensed and delivered to the ward, there is a ‘TTO teachback’ process
TTO teachback is done by one of our pharmacy technicians or the nurse to talk you through the TTO, make sure you understand your medicines, and that you have at least 2weeks’ supply of everything
This is a great opportunity to ask questions, but you can contact us after your discharge if you want to
You can also access our patient information portal to access leaflets, videos, alerts and FAQs about your medication