Hospital Pharmacist
Vol 10 No 5 p189
May 2003

News summary

Related websites
Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (www.ghp.org.uk)

Extra funding for hospital manufacturing

Hospital manufacturing units in England are to be allocated a further £42m over the next three years.

The announcement was made by Dr Jim Smith, chief pharmaceutical officer for England at the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists annual meeting in Bristol on 5 April. Dr Smith said that it was well known that the service was fragmented and an effective infrastructure was lacking.

He also announced that guidance is to be released soon on how the additional money should be used to support hospital manufacturing. Emphasis will be placed on aseptic preparations and oncology services, he said.

Dr Smith commented on how unusual it was for someone like himself, a civil servant, to make this sort of announcement. He had stepped in at short notice to take the place not only of Lord Hunt, who had resigned as health minister over the invasion of Iraq, but also Lord Hunt's replacement who was unable to attend the meeting.