The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7232 p74
18 January 2003

This article
Reprint
Photocopy

News summary

New Welsh quality control unit opened

The Welsh quality control centre, St Mary's pharmaceutical unit, has moved to new purpose-built premises at Llanishen, Cardiff.

The £750,000 building contains the All-Wales quality control laboratory and offices for three All-Wales specialists and their staff. It also houses a non-sterile production unit manufacturing oral preparations, capsules, liquids and creams for local hospitals and community pharmacies, and warehouse space for a short-line service for Welsh hospitals. The unit employs 25 members of staff, including seven pharmacists.

V'Iain Fenton-May, All-Wales quality assurance pharmacist, told The Journal that the unit was one of the largest complexes of its type in British hospital pharmacy, covering 1,150 sq m. Its specialists are responsible for the quality of medicines manufactured in Welsh hospitals, the quality of purchasing and contracting for pharmaceuticals and supporting research projects by pharmacists in both primary and secondary care. The unit has also been involved with developing clinical trials material for the pharmaceutical industry and in analysing imported products.

The unit was formerly housed in a converted isolation unit at St Mary's Day Hospital, Penarth, Cardiff. The new unit was officially opened by Welsh Health Minister Jane Hutt last week.