Pharmacy

The pharmacy service at Alder Hey is responsible for preparing and dispensing all medicines prescribed for inpatients and outpatients as well as providing many other services to the hospital.

Pharmacists work closely with clinical teams on the wards, aseptic services and research teams, and also in the outpatient pharmacy where families can pick up prescriptions.

Picking up prescriptions from the outpatient pharmacy

You will find the outpatient phamacy in the atrium at Alder Hey, close to the East Prescot Road entrance and Costa coffee shop. We can only provide medicines that have been prescribed, and there are five steps to how we do this:

1. Arriving at the pharmacy

We can only begin preparing your prescription when you arrive at the outpatient pharmacy. We will ask you to confirm the patient's name and date of birth and some questions about the medicine being prescribed e.g 'has your child taken this medicine before?' and 'does your child have any allergies?' We will also ask whether your child prefers their medicine in liquid or as tablets and provide medicines in the preferred format whenever possible.

2.  We will screen the prescription to make sure it is correct

Asking the questions in step one means we can clinically screen your child's prescription to make sure it is valid and that the dose is correct for their age. This also helps us make sure the prescription will not interact with any other medicine they are taking.

3. Preparing your prescription

After the clinical screening we will begin preparing the prescription. Some medicines have to be made up especially for your child so these may take a little longer.

4. Checking the information

When the prescription has been prepared we will check again to make sure the information on the label is the same as on the prescription and then pack it into a bag ready to give to you, or to send to your child's ward.

5. Handing over your prescription

When we give you the prescription, we will ask you to confirm some of your child's details to make sure we are giving you the right medicines. We will explain each item to you, telling you how to give it to your child and how often. If we have any written information about your medicine we will also give you that. Please feel free to ask us any questions before you leave.

Pharmacy opening hours and contact number

• Outpatient Dispensary – 0151 282 4494
  • Opening hours 8.45am to 5pm Monday to Friday
• Specials Team – 0151 282 4878
• Homecare - 0151 293 3560

Oncology / Haemotology Pharmacy Service

Please find the page here.