Pharmacy

We offer pharmacy services for outpatients and inpatients at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and University Hospital Lewisham.

If you are prescribed medicines by us, you will be asked either to collect these from the hospital or from your GP.

Get advice about your medicines

Our staff are here to help you with advice about your medicines and can answer any questions you may have.

If you would like to speak to a pharmacist about your medicines please ring the Medicines Helpline on 020 8836 4900; lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am — 5pm.

Services available

Inpatient dispensaries

We provide discharge prescriptions and deliver controlled drugs and other medicines directly to wards. We also advise patients about their medications and answer any questions they may have.

Outpatient pharmacies

We have outpatient pharmacies at both of our hospital sites that dispense medicines prescribed by our Trust.

We can not dispense medication for GP prescriptions (FP10), hospital prescriptions for retail pharmacies (FP10HP) or prescriptions from other NHS Trusts.

If you attend as an outpatient, 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.

Pharmacy locations

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Rowlands Pharmacy,  ground floor, near the entrance to the outpatient corridor

  • Monday to Friday: 8am – 7pm
  • Saturday: 9am – 5pm
  • Sunday and bank holidays: 10am – 5pm

Phone:  020 8319 4400

University Hospital Lewisham

Rowlands outpatient pharmacy, Ground floor, Yellow Zone, near main entrance

  • Monday to Friday: 8am – 7pm
  • Saturday: 9am – 5pm
  • Sunday and Bank Holidays: 10am – 5pm

Phone:  020 8333 3000, extension 48186

The outpatient pharmacy can only dispense medicines against University Hospital Lewisham prescriptions and not those from your GP. Medicines prescribed by your GP should be collected from a community pharmacy.

Main Trust Pharmacy (inpatients only),  ground floor, Yellow Zone

  • Monday to Friday, 9.30am – 5.15pm
  • Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays, 9.30am – 5pm

Phone:  020 8333 3000, extension 26161

Alexis Clinic (For Alexis Clinic prescriptions only):  Second floor, Pink Zone

  • Monday, Tuesday and Friday: 9am - 5pm
  • Wednesday: 1pm - 5pm
  • Thursday: 10am - 5pm
  • Saturday and Sunday: closed

Phone:  020 8333 3000 ext 26752

Medicines Information Service

Our Medicines Information service is available to patients who have been prescribed medication by our Trust.

We also offer advice to other healthcare professionals about medicines that have been prescribed to patients by us.

We can only answer questions about medicines that have been prescribed to you by our Trust.

If you have been prescribed medication by another hospital or other healthcare service, please get in contact with the hospital or other health provider that prescribed the medication to you.

Contact

Call the service on 020 8836 4900. The team are available Monday to Friday from 9am - 5pm.

You can also send your questions to us using our online form: Submit a question about your medication

Prescription charges and help with costs

Standard NHS prescription charges are applicable for most hospital outpatient prescriptions, but some people may be eligible for an exemption for  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 department.

Anticoagulant clinics

We run weekly clinics in partnership with the Haematology department. 
Our pharmacists support outpatient anticoagulant clinics to provide a monitoring service for patients on warfarin and other anticoagulants.

Read more about our anticoagulant clinics

The Medicines Formulary

Our Trust takes an active role in the assessment of new medications for use in the Trust, appraising the evidence for efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness.

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.

It 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

We are part of The South East London Joint Medicines Formulary, which manages the introduction of new medicines for three south east London Trusts: Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTFT), King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (KCH) and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust.

The group, which includes consultants, GPs and pharmacists, from all three Trusts and the South East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) meets on a monthly basis.

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 agenda. Proposals to include other medicines require a consultant to make a submission to the committee.

The Paediatric Formulary

The Paediatric Formulary provides guidance on the use of medicines approved for use with 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 and Greenwich NHS Trust.

You can view more about approved medicines on the Paediatric Formulary website.

For any enquiries relating to the Medicines Formulary or Paediatric Formulary please contact LH.medicinesinfo@nhs.net.