Changes to outpatient pharmacy services from 1 December 2024
Our new outpatient pharmacy – Newcastle Pharmacy Services – will open on Monday 1 December as a subsidiary of the Trust, replacing Lloyds which earlier this year announced it was withdrawing from its hospital pharmacy sites.
All locations and opening hours of our existing pharmacies on the RVI and Freeman hospital sites will remain the same, although you will notice the Lloyds signage will be replaced by the Newcastle Pharmacy Services logo and staff will be in different uniforms.
In preparation of the change, our outpatient pharmacies will be closed on Saturday 30 November 2024. If you have an outstanding prescription, please try to collect your medicines by 5pm on Friday 29 November.
Facilities
Our outpatient pharmacies at both hospitals have a private consultation room where patients can talk to a pharmacist in confidence.
We also offer a wide range of products including over the counter medicines and a range of health products.
Prescription collection
You or someone on your behalf can collect your medicines from the on-site outpatient pharmacy before you leave the hospital. You can also leave prescriptions and collect them later during our opening hours.
We usually send outpatient prescriptions electronically to the pharmacy. When the pharmacy receive the prescription, in most cases they will be ready for collection in around 30 minutes.
If you have given the prescriber your mobile phone number, we will send you a text message when your medicine is ready to collect.
We recommend that you connect to the Trust’s WiFi (NHS WiFi) while in the hospital to make sure that you receive the message.
You should take paper prescriptions to the pharmacy straight away. You can also leave it and call back later.
We have limited space to wait around the outpatient pharmacies.
Please leave at least 30 minutes before going to collect your medicines. This is unless it’s near closing time or we’ve contacted you to say it’s ready.
Ideally you should go to the pharmacy alone unless you need help or you are accompanying a child or vulnerable person.
We have a delivery service for patients who have had a remote consultation (by telephone or video) and need a new medicine, or who receive repeat prescriptions for ‘hospital only’ medicines. Ask the staff in your clinic about this service.
Who can use our outpatient dispensaries?
Our outpatient dispensaries are provided primarily for outpatients attending clinics within the Trust, affiliated healthcare facilities and the Newcastle Fertility Centre.
We are unable to dispense NHS prescriptions from:
- Your GP (FP10)
- NHS prescriptions from hospitals intended for dispensing at a retail pharmacy (FP10HP)
- Hospital prescriptions from other hospital Trusts.
Your prescription will if they are for the Freeman Hospital or the Royal Victoria Infirmary dispensary.
It may be possible to have your prescription dispensed or collected from an alternative Trust dispensary. Please contact the relevant dispensary manager to arrange.
There is also a dedicated clinical trials dispensary within the Northern Centre for Cancer Care for clinical trial dispensing only. The Trust manages this dispensary.
Prescription charges
Charges are applicable for hospital outpatient prescriptions at the standard NHS rate.
As an outpatient, we will supply you with a maximum of four weeks’ medication. This is unless a specific course states otherwise, or if the medicine is unavailable through your own GP.
Private prescription charges are variable and we will determine this at the point of dispensing. You can get an estimate of the charge in advance by contacting the relevant outpatient dispensary. Please note that this may be subject to change.
Help with costs
Some people are eligible for exemption from charges for prescriptions and other types of NHS treatment.
Find out more about exemptions from prescription charges or if you are entitled help with costs. You can also ask for an HC11 leaflet which explains entitlement. You can get a copy of the HC11 leaflet from one of our cashier’s offices.
Locations and opening hours
Freeman Hospital
- Come through the Main Outpatient Department entrance
- Walk through the main clinic area to the end of clinic E until you reach a long corridor
- The outpatient dispensing area is on your right hand side.
Royal Victoria Infirmary
- Enter the hospital through the New Victoria Wing entrance on Ground level 1 or follow the Pharmacy signs from other hospital entrances
- The Lloyds Pharmacy shop and outpatient dispensing area is located behind the Amigos shop
Contact us
You can contact us by telephone by calling 0191 213 8506.
