Pharmacy at University Hospital Lewisham
If you are prescribed medicines, you will be asked either to collect these from the hospital or from your GP.
Pharmacy staff can tell you about your medicines so please feel free to ask them questions.
If you would like to speak to a pharmacist about your medicines please ring the Medicines Helpline on 020 8836 4900, Monday to Friday between 9.00am-5.00pm.
Pharmacy locations
Lloyds Outpatient Pharmacy
Please note that the Lloyds outpatient pharmacy can only dispense medicines against University Hospital Lewisham prescriptions and not those from your GP. Medicines prescribed by your GP should be provided by a Community pharmacy.
Location: Ground floor, near main entrance
- Monday to Friday: 8am – 7pm
- Saturday: 9am – 5pm
- Sunday & Bank Holidays: 10am – 5pm
Contact telephone: 0208 333 3000 ext 48186
Main Trust Pharmacy (for inpatients only)
Location; Ground Floor, Yellow Zone
- Monday to Friday, 9.30am–5.15pm
- Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays, 9.30am – 5pm
Contact telephone: 020 8333 3000 ext 26161
Alexis Clinic (For Alexis Clinic prescriptions only)
Location: Second floor, Pink Zone
- Monday, Tuesday and Friday: 9.00am-5.00pm
- Wednesday: 1.00pm-5.00pm
- Thursday: 10.00am-5.00pm
- Saturday and Sunday: Closed
Contact telephone: 020 8333 3000 ext 26752
Dispensary Services
Our busy dispensary is staffed by a team of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and assistant technical officers, all working together to provide a dispensing facility for patients being treated in the Trust and its affiliated services. Outpatient prescriptions are dispensed in order by a numbered ticketing system while the patients or their representative wait. Prescriptions can also be left for dispensing and collected at a later time (see opening hours). Discharge prescriptions, in-patient medication and ward supplies are made directly to the wards and departments.
Our dispensary services are provided primarily for University Hospital Lewisham’s in-patients, and out-patients attending clinics within the Trust and affiliated healthcare facilities. We are unable to dispense NHS prescriptions from your GP (FP10), NHS prescriptions from hospitals intended for dispensing at a retail pharmacy (FP10HP), or hospital prescriptions from other Trusts.
Prescription charges and help with costs
Charges are applicable for hospital out-patient prescriptions at the standard NHS rate. If you attend as an out-patient, you will be supplied with a minimum of 14 days medication, unless a specific course states otherwise or if the medicine is unavailable through your own GP.
Some people are eligible for exemption from charges for prescriptions and other types of NHS treatment. You can find out more information about the groups of patients that are exempt from prescription charges or those who may be entitled help with costs at Help with health costs or by asking for an HC11 leaflet which explains entitlement. You can also obtain a copy from our main Pharmacy.
Contact us
If you would like to speak to a pharmacist about your medicines, please ring the Medicines Helpline on 0208 836 4900, Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.
Medicines Information Services
The Medicines Information Services provides information and advice on all aspects of drug therapy. Our aim is to support the safe, effective and efficient use of medicines within the Trust, providing evidence-based information and advice on the therapeutic use of medicines. Currently staffed with one full-time Medicines Information pharmacist and one part-time pharmacist, we answer between 50-80 enquiries per month.
The service is available to all University Hospital Lewisham staff and patients who have queries relating to medicines received from our Trust. We also aim to provide help with enquiries from other healthcare professionals regarding Trust-related medicines issues. If you are a patient of the Trust or a healthcare professional and have an enquiry regarding medication received from or recommended by the Trust, please contact us at the number provided below. Other members of the public should contact NHS Direct.
The Medicines Formulary
The Medicines Formulary is a list of medicines approved for use in adults by the Joint Formulary Committee (JFC). This includes medicines intended for use in accordance with their license and outside of their license, as well as products that are not licensed in the UK. The Medicines Formulary is intended for use alongside other resources to ensure the safe and appropriate prescribing of medicines for patients. These resources include:
- The British National Formulary (BNF)
- Summaries of Product Characteristics (SPCs)
- Local, regional and national clinical and prescribing guidelines
- A guide to using the Medicines Formulary
The JFC was set up in 2002 and manages the introduction of new medicines for three Trusts – Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTFT), King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (KCH) and Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust (LH). It draws members (consultants, GPs and pharmacists) from GSTFT, KCH and LH and their associated host Clinical Commissioning Groups and holds monthly meetings.
Medicines recommended for use by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and NHS Specialised Services are automatically included in the Medicines Formulary and are a standing item on the monthly JFC agenda. Proposals to include other medicines require a consultant to make a submission to the JFC.
NICE Technology Appraisal Guidance Adherence
Formulary Adherence checklist for NICE-TAs September-December-2015.pdf [pdf] 147KB
Formulary Adherence Checklist 2014-15 [pdf] 323KB
Formulary Adherence Checklist 2013-14 [pdf] 413KB
Formulary Adherance Checklist 2012-13 [pdf] 352KB
The Paediatric Formulary
The Paediatric Formulary provides guidance on the use of medicines approved for use in children by the Paediatric Formulary Committee. The Paediatric Formulary used at The Evelina Hospital is produced in collaboration with the Children’s Services departments at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust. Further information about the approved medicines and their administration to children can be below.
Paediatric Formulary (website)>>
During the next 6 months, we will add further information to this section in line with the recommendations of the NICE Good Practice Guidance on “Developing and updating local formularies (GPG1)”.
For any enquiries relating to the Medicines Formulary or Paediatric Formulary please contact LH.medicinesinfo@nhs.net.
Clinical Pharmacy Services
With the on-going importance of drug safety issues and continuing emphasis on cost-effective prescribing within the NHS, a strong clinical pharmacy presence on the wards is essential to ensure the use of medication is both safe and appropriate, and that patients receive the best possible care.
Our clinical pharmacy service operates at ward level across a wide range of areas. Clinical pharmacy teams visit the wards at least once a day and provide services that include medication history taking, drug chart review, ordering of medications for patients’ during their in-patient stay, attending consultant post-take ward rounds, and preparation of discharge prescriptions. They will also answer enquiries from staff and patients and inform some patients about their medicines prior to discharge.
Aseptic Unit Services
The Aseptic unit prepares a range of products including intravenous chemotherapy and nutrition infusions. In each case, commercially available sterile solutions and products are manipulated to produce a final product for administration to the patient.
Stores and distribution
The Pharmacy Stores and Distribution area, situated within the Pharmacy department, acts as a central receiving, storage and distribution point for pharmaceutical goods for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. Our pharmacy team of technicians and assistants visit the wards and departments on a scheduled basis to co-ordinate the ordering and supply of stock pharmaceutical items.
Anticoagulant Clinics
In conjunction with the Haematology Department, a team of experienced pharmacists support the Out-patient Anticoagulant Clinics providing a monitoring service for patients on warfarin and other anticoagulants.
Clinics operate at the following times
Tuesday, 8.30am-12.30pm (Pharmacist and Nurse)
Wednesday, 1.30pm-5.00pm (Pharmacist and Nurse)
Thursday, 1.30pm-5.00pm (Nurse)
Friday, 8.30am-12.30pm (Doctor, Pharmacist and Nurse)
Contact Us
To make, alter or cancel an appointment for the outpatient anticoagulant clinic, or for advice regarding your anticoagulant treatment, please contact the anticoagulant clinic staff on 020 8333 3000 ext 26705.