Pharmacy

Contact us

Kent and Canterbury Hospital                                         

• Monday to Friday: 9am – 5.30pm / Saturday to Sunday: 9am – 12noon

• Tel: 01227 864263

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital

• Monday to Friday: 9am – 5.30pm

• Tel: 01843 225544 ext. 725-3196.

William Harvey Hospital

• Monday to Friday: 9am – 5.30pm

• Tel: 01233 633331 ext. 723-8005.

What we do

The Pharmacy directorate provides a range of services throughout the Trust. It is a patient focused service that is involved in every aspect of the management of medicines. There is a Pharmacy department with a dispensary in each of our three acute hospitals, William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent and Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury, and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.

The hospital pharmacies provide services to patients in these hospitals while specialist services may be based in one of the hospitals but provide a service to the whole Trust. There are also pharmacists who are qualified to prescribe medicines.

The Pharmacy directorate takes an active role in ensuring that the Trust complies with national legislation, standards and guidance on medicines, cost effective prescribing and infection control.

Patient helpline

The pharmacy medicines information department operates a telephone helpline to answer any questions about medicines issued by the hospital.         

The helpline is available: Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm on 01233 616001

You may have questions such as:

• When and how should I take my medicines?

• Is it safe to take with other medicines?

• What side effects may I experience?

Unfortunately we cannot answer questions on:

• Medicines from your own doctor

• Other people’s medicines

• Your illness in general.

If you have a question about supplies of your medicine, for example if you have to collect further quantities, please contact the pharmacy at the hospital where you were seen.

Inpatient services

When you are admitted to hospital as an inpatient please bring all the medicines you are taking with you. You may have been given a green bag for this, if so please bring your medicines in this. 

Remember to bring eye drops, inhalers, patches, creams and a record of any medicines you may buy including herbal and alternative remedies. A member of the pharmacy team will review the medicines and your medication history as well as any allergies you may have.

Pharmacy teams visit the wards each day. Your prescribed drug treatment will be checked to ensure that the choice of drug is appropriate, doses are correct for you, that one drug does not interfere with another, that the medicine is in a form that you can take and to ensure that supplies of the drug are readily available.  

The pharmacy team can also answer any questions you may have about your medication. 

When you are discharged, your existing and new medication will be reviewed and you will be given an adequate supply of all medication to take home.  

Your GP will usually manage further medication supplies but, on rare occasions, supplies may need to be maintained from the hospital and this will be explained to you.

Outpatient services

When you visit the hospital for an outpatient appointment please bring a record of all the medicines you are taking or using including strengths and dosages of the medicines. The repeat prescription slip from your GP is a useful record. Please also bring information about any medicines and herbal or alternative treatments that you may buy. Be prepared to tell the healthcare professional that you see in the clinic of any drug allergies that you have.

At your outpatient appointment you may be given a prescription. Most prescriptions can be taken to a community pharmacy for dispensing while some drugs can only be supplied by the hospital pharmacy. You will be told at the outpatient clinic where the prescription can be dispensed.    

If you normally pay for prescriptions that you obtain from your GP, you will also have to pay at the hospital pharmacy.