Our colleagues in the Pharmacy Dispensary Department at CRH will be moving to a temporary new home next week, to allow for an exciting refit and a brand-new piece of robotic equipment to be installed.
From Wednesday 11 October, they can be found on the third floor opposite the Pain Clinic - for those who remember, this was where Medical Engineering used to be located.
The pharmacy service will be maintained. Here are the main things to note:
- The work is expected to take around 19 weeks and we’ll keep colleagues posted on progress
- During this time there will be no pneumatic tube system, so colleagues may be asked to come and collect medications
- Whilst our Pharmacy telephone contact numbers will not change, we ask that colleagues ring the allocated DECT phone for the pharmacy team covering their area rather than phoning the dispensary
- During the works pharmacy will not be accepting any medication returns as there isn't enough space to store or process them
- Rowlands Pharmacy opening times (for outpatient prescriptions) will not change other than some additional opening for two weekends immediately after the move
- The process for dispensing outpatient prescriptions outside of Rowlands opening times (to avoid footfall on third floor) is being worked through by the Pharmacy Team
The refurbished pharmacy will have new collection lockers for ward teams (like those currently in place at our HRI pharmacy), and the robotic dispenser, which has been funded by the Scan4Safety programme, will allow pharmacists to dispense medications from home out-of-hours.
Deputy Clinical Director of Pharmacy, Katherine Cullen, said: “When the new pharmacy is complete, it’ll be unrecognisable. But more importantly it will free up time for colleagues to focus on patient facing activity, giving them more time to care”.
Main picture: Senior Dispensing Assistant, Jamie Whiteley
Below: Specialist Commissioning and Transformation Pharmacist, Nigel Watson on a visit to see a demonstration of the new system.
