Legal services
The pharmacy repackaging unit supplies 半岛体育 Park, Wexham Park and Heatherwood, as well as many other NHS hospitals with patient-ready packs. Bulk pharmaceuticals are packed into agreed pack sizes suitable for out-patient and Emergency Department doctors and nurse-prescribers to dispense to patients. This includes antibiotics, pain killers, eye drops and many other products that are pre-labelled and help speed up discharge times for patients. The repackaging unit also provides a service to pack and replenish many emergency drug kits and boxes that are widely used across the NHS.
Farnham Repackaging unit opened in 1975 and has moved premises several times allowing for expansion of its services. It has been on its current site in Aldershot since August 2005.
Changes in the law and in the structure of the NHS in recent years have presented a considerable challenge to hospital production services, and we have directed much effort towards responding to this challenge. We now have a professional operation, run by committed staff, which enabled us to submit a successful application for a manufacturer’s (specials) licence in 1991 when crown immunity was lost and licences were required. During the years since the licence was granted, we have built up a reputation for providing a reliable, user-friendly service, and our turnover has grown steadily.
We currently supply a total of 70 NHS hospitals and urgent care centres in various regions with pre-packed and over-labelled medicines. These patient ready packs allow patients to be discharged faster and reduce pressures in pharmacy departments. It also allows medicines to be dispensed by doctors and nurse practitioners out of hours. In addition, we supply several ambulance services with all their pharmaceutical requirements.
We also provide a large range of emergency boxes and patient ready kits to our own trust and many of our customers.
As well as our specials licence we also hold a wholesaler’s distribution licence which allows us to supply bulk pharmaceuticals to customers such as the ambulance services and dentists.
We have now grown into the largest pre-packing unit in the country, supplying around 1.3 million pre-packs per year and roughly 200,000 items wholesale.
A key factor in the reorganisation of our operation was the decision to cease non-sterile manufacture and concentrate exclusively on repackaging. This has allowed us to direct all our efforts towards this activity, resulting in an efficient operation with maximum attention devoted to quality. We welcome visits from customers or potential customers who would be interested in the operation of the unit.
We prepare product specification sheets for all newly requested products so that the customer can approve the pack price, label etc., prior to packing and make any changes they require.
All packs are prepared specifically for the individual customer requirements and will be labelled with the customer’s name and phone number/address as required.
Quality is built into every aspect of our service: from affirming the quality of the products we pack, to a full line-by-line check of every assembled order prior to despatch.
We have two teams:
- Production
The Production team are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the unit and oversee staffing, pre-packing, procurement, customer service and customer relations. - Quality assurance
The quality assurance team are there to audit our processes and ensure procedures are adhered to. They check and release every pack before it leaves the unit ensuring that the quality of our products meet expectations.