MEDICINE MANAGEMENT
Lee Craig, site operations manager at The Specials Laboratory, discusses over labelling of medicines to treat and discharge patients more quickly.
In
creasingly, the NHS is under pressure to improve patient care, drive effi-
ciency, reduce stock and achieve targets for the thousands of patients seen each month. Throw ongoing budget cuts into the mix and that really is quite a challenge.
By utilising the services of a reliable con- tract partner to supply over labelled medi- cines, NHS hospital pharmacy depart- ments across the UK are improving service, freeing up space and reducing spend.
The Specials Laboratory’s over labelling service involves the supply of medicines pre-labelled with a hospital or PCT’s own design. It helps hospitals, PCTs and am- bulance services dispense medicines and cut down waiting time for patients in pres- surised situations such as out of hours dis- pensing.
The service is assisting NHS hospitals from London to Glasgow treat and discharge patients more quickly while delivering in- creased efficiency in hospital pharmacy departments.
Debbie Brenton, assistant director of phar- macy at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, explains how using a contract supplier came about: “All of our over labelling was historically either done in-house or by an- other local NHS Trust until we began look- ing to outsource the service.
“Our first supplier began struggling with capacity and not meeting our service re- quirements, so we identified The Specials Laboratory as a potential partner.
“After visiting their facilities in Northum- berland, meeting the team and carrying out a quality audit on the site, we set-up up a supply and service level agreement with the company as our new over labelling sup- plier.”
The set-up process takes just seven days and involves a technical agreement, setting volumes, agreeing artwork and approving labels. The Specials Laboratory then source and purchase stock, over label, store and deliver in just 24 hours from when a cus- tomer calls off orders.
66 | national health executive Jul/Aug 11
Lee Craig
Since the initial set-up, The Specials Labo- ratory has supplied Derriford Hospital with an increasing number of lines, including over labelled products such as ibuprofen. The use of an outsourced partner has ena- bled Derriford Hospital to drive efficiency, cut cost and improve patient care.
Debbie explains: “We have now moved the majority of our lines over to The Specials Laboratory and in doing so have made sav- ings in excess of £60,000. They have quick- ly set-up on new lines on request, provided a proactive service and consistently deliv- ered product in a speedy manner, whilst maintaining safe quality systems.
“By using The Specials Laboratory as our over labelling partner, we have helped im- prove patient care and enhanced our phar- macy’s reputation within the Trust,” she added.
The Specials Laboratory’s service was de- vised to be as simple as possible with free quotations, no minimum order quantity, up-front fixed pricing, a free design service and barcoding to assist with automated dispensing systems. Customers are also supplied with trending information data to assist with forecasting and are assured of QP release on every product.
Donna Wooffitt at Wokingham Community Hospital has experienced similar success. She said: “We order over labelled products
from The Specials Laboratory and have to say we have been very impressed. The team is helpful, responsive and quickly deal with any issues. Delivery of our products is nor- mally within 24 hours and the overall ser- vice is fantastic.”
With three state-of-the-art MHRA-ap- proved facilities, The Specials Laboratory is also a leading supplier of unlicensed medicines (‘Specials’), which are bespoke- made for individual patients, to hospitals pharmacists. The award-winning manufac- turer is also licensed to manufacture inves- tigational medicinal products (IMPs) to as- sist with the supply of non-sterile products such as capsules and creams for small-scale hospital-based clinical trials.
The Specials Laboratory’s over labelling service assists with planning, improves cash flow and budgeting and maximises efficiency in the dispensary by supplying ready to dispense medicines. The bespoke offering takes away the hassle of managing stock and allows the pharmacy department to concentrate on dispensing medicines rather than get caught up in stock manage- ment issues.
It’s as simple as that. Can you afford not to give it a shot?
FOR MORE INFORMATION
T: 0800 028 4925 W:
www.specialslab.co.uk/nhe
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