Pharmacy
Opening Hours
Pharmacy is open from 9am until 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am until 2pm Saturday and Sunday. TTO’s should be prepared as far in advance as possible to ensure they are ready when a child goes home.
Out of hours there is an on-call service. From 5pm on weekdays or 2pm at weekends until 8pm there is an on-call pharmacist at LGI on bleep number 80-2843. From 8pm until 9am the on-call service is provided by a pharmacist resident at St James’s on bleep 80-1247.
Your ward pharmacist
Will visit the ward each weekday, usually in the morning, to sort out any problems, check new admissions, do drug histories, counsel patients on medicines and solve any medicine related queries you or the nursing staff may have. Use them! Bleep numbers are available on each ward.
Medicines code and prescribing
This is an LTHT wide policy and it is compulsory. The aim of the Medicines Code is to provide prescribing and administration guidance and information about safe storage and distribution of medicines around the Trust. It applies to everyone who has anything to do with medicines.
Key facts do’s and don’ts:
- Do write clearly, unambiguously and in CAPITALS
- Do use generic drug names
- Don’t abbreviate drug names - FeSO4 is unacceptable
- Do use the following for describing quantities of drug - g/mg/microgram(not mcg or μg)/nanogram(not ng)/units(not u or iu).
- Do use the following abbreviations for route but write all others in full - IV/PO/NG/IM/SC/PR/Neb/Top/INH
The full Medicines Code can be found on the intranet. You need to read and familiarise yourself with this document. It has some useful information in it like how to prescribe CDs without being called down to pharmacy to rewrite them!
Injectable medicines code
As with the Medicines Code this provides guidance on prescribing and administering injectable medicines and it must be followed.
