Hospital Pharmacist
Vol 10 No 10 p422-427
November 2003

Automated dispensing is a major step forward says First Minister of Wales Automated dispensing is a major step forward in releasing pharmacists from the dispensary and onto the wards where they can better apply their skills, according to Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of the National Assembly of Wales...more

Hospital automated dispensing machine is important to patients An automated dispensing machine in the pharmacy is important to patients and will be welcomed by wards and clinical services as it will enhance efficiency, said Mark Hackett, chief executive of the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital NHS Trust...more

Clinical pharmacy award launched for technicians Pharmacy technicians can now enter a new award which has been added to the AAH pharmacy technician of the year award scheme...more

Robots should dispense through the night, say conference participants Robots in hospital pharmacies are an under-used resource, according to participants at the “doing dispensing differently” conference held in London on 23 October...more

“One size fits all” prescribing courses may not suit everyone Having a “one size fits all” approach to deliver some elements of the supplementary prescribing courses may not always be suitable, according to Duncan McRobbie, principal clinical pharmacist, Guys and St Thomas' NHS Trust...more

MHRA start consultation on access to yellow card data Consultation to consider whether the data collected under the yellow card scheme should be made available to a wider audience has been started by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)...more

Syringe pump warning The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a warning regarding Arcomedical Syramed SP6000 syringe pumps...more

NEWS IN BRIEF
Trusts must implement new guidance on the safe administration of intrathecal chemotherapy by 30 November. A summary on this new guidance, which was issued in response to incidents where intrathecal vincristine caused death or paralysis, is given on p421.

Advice for members of clinical ethics panels on medical ethics issues has been published by the deputy chief medical officer for England.
See www.ethics-network.org.uk

The Improvement Partnership for Hospitals has been launched to provide the support and skills to reduce delays and improve patient care.
More details are available here

A government white paper has been issued titled “Our inheritance, our future – realising the potential of genetics in the NHS.”
Full details are available here

Statements of quality and standards in the 2003 British Pharmacopoeia become legally enforceable on 1 December. The lastest version of the British Pharmacopoeia was published at the end of September.

A joint meeting of the Pharmaceutical Aseptic Services Committee and the Hospital Pharmacists’ Group will be held on 18 November at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in London. Further details from Lorraine Fearon on 020 7572 2409.

Grants for pharmacists to undertake research aimed at making a difference to patient care or public health are available from the Health Foundation.
See www.health.org.uk