Welcome to the CHoICE Outpatient Pharmacy web page. CHoICE have been responsible for the dispensing of prescriptions for outpatients attending Sunderland Royal Hospital and Sunderland Eye Infirmary since August 2014. Our priority is that all prescriptions are dispensed safely and efficiently by our professional, helpful and friendly pharmacy team.
Every year our highly trained team of pharmacists and support staff supplied by Sunderland Royal Hospital dispense over 100,000 outpatient prescriptions.
CHoICE Pharmacy – Sunderland Royal Hospital
The CHoICE pharmacy at Sunderland Royal Hospital is located in the busy outpatient department in the Chester Wing. We dispense prescriptions from all outpatient clinics, the adult and paediatric emergency departments and the medical and surgical day case units.
Due to the large numbers of prescriptions that we process at this pharmacy and the large and diverse range of medicines we supply, we utilise modern advances in pharmacy technology to ensure that prescriptions are dispensed as efficiently as possible. This includes:
- Automated dispensing utilising a pharmacy robot linked to the electronic prescribing system.
- A barcode driven prescription tracking system is linked to screens in the pharmacy waiting area to display the estimated current waiting time, whether a prescription is ready to collect, or if there is a query with the prescription in a familiar format similar to that used by high street retailers.
CHoICE Pharmacy – Sunderland Eye Infirmary
The CHoICE pharmacy at Sunderland Eye Infirmary, located beside the outpatient waiting area, dispenses a wide variety of specialist treatments for patients with acute and chronic eye conditions, as well as eye drops used after eye surgery.
Additional Services
In addition to dispensing outpatient prescriptions, we also offer the following additional services:
- A range of over the counter medicines available for sale to patients, visitors and staff.
- Dispensing of private and veterinary prescriptions.
- Expert advice about medicines and minor illnesses
Information on Prescription Charges for Outpatient Prescriptions
As with prescriptions dispensed by a community pharmacy, there is a prescription charge payable for all prescription items unless you are usually exempt from prescription charges. If you are exempt from prescription charges then you may be asked for proof of your exemption. The prescription charge as of April 2017 is £8.60 per item.
If you are unsure as to whether or not you pay for your prescriptions, please pay for your prescription and ask for an NHS receipt (Also known as an FP57), which allows you to claim the prescription charge back, or go to www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/free-nhs-prescriptions for more information on exemptions from prescription charges.
Please ensure that you ask for an NHS receipt at the time, as you cannot be provided with one at a later date.
If you are prescribed more than 13 prescription items each year or 3 or more items at one time, you could save money by purchasing a prescription pre-payment certificate. Please ask a member of staff for more information or go to www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ppc
Opening Hours.
CHoICE Pharmacy – Sunderland Royal Hospital
Monday to Thursday 9am-5.30pm
Friday 9am – 5pm
Telephone 0191 5699163
Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays – Closed.
CHoICE Pharmacy – Sunderland Eye Infirmary
Monday to Friday 8.30am –1pm then 2pm - 5pm
Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays – Closed.
Telephone 0191 5656256 extension 46257