Newcastle hospital pharmacies to be run in-house amid hope for improvements for patients
by Sam Volpe · ChronicleLiveNewcastle hospital bosses hope bringing pharmacy services in-house will improve services and reduce queues for patients.
The pharmacies at both the Royal Victoria Infirmary and the Freeman Hospital were previously operated by the firm Lloyds Pharmacy - which has pivoted away from physical locations in favour of an online business - and will be operated by a new NHS-owned company from December 1.
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust director of communications and corporate affairs Caroline Docking told members of the city council's health and social care scrutiny committee about the move last week.
She said: "As a matter of interest people might be aware that Lloyds Pharmacy has stopped providing services in two hospitals, that affects the pharmacies at both the Freeman and the RVI. As of December 1, these services will come into a wholly-owned subsidiary company.
"All of the staff working for Lloyds Pharmacy will transfer over and will be very much NHS staff. There should not be any changes for patients. We are really pleased about this and we are looking forward to seeing improvements for patients."
A new company - Newcastle Hospitals Pharmaservices Limited - was formally incorporated on September 14 this year and its only shareholder is the NHS trust.
Earlier this year, a Wallsend man shared his anger and blamed delays at the pharmacy when he was hit with a parking fine for overstaying in the pick-up and drop-off spaces at the Freeman. Paul Hathaway told ChronicleLive at the time he had expected picking up a prescription for his mother would take less than ten minutes, only for it to take more than half an hour due to delays at the pharmacy.
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