What is the Lothian Palliative Care Community Pharmacy Network?
- There are 22 community pharmacies across Edinburgh, Midlothian, East and West Lothian in this network
- They allow timely access to palliative care medicines for patients being cared for at home
- They provide information regarding palliative care medicines to patients, carers and other health care professionals
- These pharmacies continually stock a range of palliative care medicines
Obtaining prescriptions
Patients or their carers will continue to use their usual community pharmacy to obtain routine prescriptions. The network pharmacies can only be accessed (either during working hours or out-of-hours) when the patient’s usual community pharmacy cannot supply the palliative care medicine(s) within the timescale required. Lothian Unscheduled Care Services (LUCS) also hold a range of palliative care medicines.
Normal community pharmacy opening hours (Edinburgh, Midlothian, East and West Lothian)
- The GP or community pharmacy contacts one of the network pharmacies and informs the pharmacist that they will be receiving a prescription for a medicine(s) from the palliative care stock list
- Where possible the patient’s relative/carer will take the prescription to the pharmacy and pick up the medicines. When this is not possible, alternative arrangements will be made to deliver the prescription to the pharmacy and deliver the medicines to the patient. A telephone order or faxed prescription is not acceptable
- The network pharmacist will provide advice to the patient/carer when appropriate regarding the medicines supplied and will usually liaise with the patient’s usual community pharmacist
Out-of-hours (Edinburgh, Midlothian and East and West Lothian)
- The on-call network pharmacist is contacted through the NHS Lothian Hub or Evening and Night-time Nursing Services
Palliative Care Advice Out-of-Hours
Further Information:
