Our Pharmacy team help to provide high-quality, specialist and expert care for all our patients by ensuring the safe supply of medicines.
Our person-centred approach makes it easy for people to get the most out of their medicines. We support patients on their journey with medicines, making sure that medicines are available for patients (and those who care for them) before they need them.
The team also produce the cancer treatments we deliver. Specialist treatments such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, clinical trials drugs and many other medicines are manufactured by our Pharmacy team in their state-of-the-art aseptic production facilities.
We have a large expert workforce that includes pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy assistants.
What we do
Our Pharmacy services deliver:
- Medicines purchasing and commissioning
- Aseptic production services for the production of cancer treatments and supportive medicines
- Clinical services for both our blood cancer patients and our solid tumour patients
- Medicines safety, ensuring safe use of medicines
- Research and innovation, including clinical trials
Medicines purchasing and commissioning
Cancer medicines can be complex to purchase and we need to make sure that they have been approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) who make sure medicines are safe and affordable for the NHS.
Production services
Many cancer medicines that are injected into a vein (intravenous medicines) – such as infusion bags for drip stands or pre-filled syringes – need to be carefully prepared by our Pharmacy staff so nurses can deliver them to patients.
They need to do this work in a very tightly-controlled environment (known as aseptics) to reduce any risk of contamination from particles such as bacteria.
Many medicines have to be produced in special cabinets (isolators) which protect staff from the cancer treatments, as well as making sure that no particles contaminate the cancer treatments.
Preparing our products in this way means we can make sure they are made safely.
Some of these products take a while to produce as they can be very complex to make and we need to follow thorough cleaning processes.
Clinical services
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are increasingly involved in patients’ care. This is known as clinical pharmacy.
We have a dedicated team of clinical pharmacists and technicians who make sure you get the most from your medicines while you are an inpatient under our care.
As well as helping patients on our wards, the clinical pharmacists also make sure that you get the right treatment for your cancer. Some of our pharmacists work in outpatient clinics with the medical staff and nurses to provide care as part of a team.
Medicines safety
A prescription for medicines is the most common healthcare intervention in the NHS. The medicines safety team work with clinical teams to make sure we use medicines effectively and safely. This includes preventing any untoward incidents with medicines. The team helps us make sure we learn from any incidents involving medicines so we can prevent further incidents.
Research and innovation
Clinical trials are a cornerstone of cancer therapy. They offer alternatives for patients and help to further the science of cancer treatment. We have an active department with pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy assistants who ensure that any trials medicines are introduced safely at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.
Our team
Victoria Young – Director of Pharmacy
Ben Woodhouse – Deputy Director of Pharmacy
Jennifer Gibson – Associate Director of Pharmacy (Clinical Services)
Tom Sanders – Principal Pharmacist (Research and Development)
Jayne Kelly – Principal Pharmacist (Technical Services)
Victoria Brereton – Production Services Manager
Further information
If you are a patient who needs to talk to someone about your medicines, deliveries or supply:
Call our PharmaC dispensing team on 0151 318 8739
Visit the PharmaC website (prescription dispensing and delivery)