Papers

A survey of extemporaneous preparation in NHS trusts in Yorkshire, the North-East and London

By Andrew R. Lowey, DPharm, MRPharmS, and Mark N. Jackson, MPhil, MRPharmS

This article as a PDF (50K)

Andrew Lowey is quality assurance and research pharmacist and Mark Jackson is quality control/ quality assurance manager at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Mr Jackson is chairman of the extemporaneous dispensing working group of the NHS Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance Committee.

This project was supported by Department of Health funding for modernisation of pharmacy manufacturing and directed by the NHS Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance Committee’s Working Group for Extemporaneous Dispensing.

Correspondence to
Andrew Lowey
Moor House, 125 Moor Road, Hunslet, Leeds LS10 2JQ

telephone 0113 392 7043
e-mail andrew.lowey@leedsth.nhs.uk

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE — To reduce the manufacturing burden on NHS hospital staff by collecting data on common extemporaneously prepared oral medicines with the aim of allowing specials manufacturers to produce well researched formulations.

METHODS — Data were collected by means of a questionnaire e-mailed to selected NHS trusts. The survey was designed to be compatible with a previous UK national survey.

RESULTS — Within the 61 responding trusts, 117 different drugs had been formulated as oral liquids during the 12-month survey period. The number of different preparations made within individual trusts ranged from one to 27 (mean 10.3).

CONCLUSION — The survey established the top 50 extemporaneously prepared oral dosage forms and found that the evidence base to support extemporaneous preparation was generally poor. The most commonly used preparations can now be prioritised for further formulation work in accordance with their relative risk to patient safety.

Submitting papers to Hospital Pharmacist

Pharmacists and technicians wishing to submit articles or papers to Hospital Pharmacist are invited to contact the editorial office for advice on word counts, style and submission deadlines.

Please contact
Hannah Pike
e-mail hannah.pike@pharmj.org.uk
telephone +44 (0)20 7572 2425