Media Release
Date: 11 December 2015
Construction underway on RUH's new state-of-the-art pharmacy
Work has started on the construction of a new state-of-the-art pharmacy at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust Combe Park site.
Located closer to ward areas and the proposed new Cancer Centre, the new pharmacy will bring this vital service back into the heart of the hospital and allow the Trust to deliver an even better service to patients.
The new Pharmacy facility is the latest project in the Trust's 'Fit for the Future' estates redevelopment plan, as the RUH looks to transform its site and replace old, out of date buildings with innovatively designed facilities in which staff can continue to provide the highest quality care for patients.
Howard Jones, Director of Estates and Facilities says, "Our new, state-of-the-art Pharmacy will help us provide an enhanced, more efficient service for patients. The design of a building has a huge impact on efficiency, our new pharmacy will allow us to speed up our processes and allow our teams to work better together."
Howard continues, "We've worked closely with staff and users of the pharmacy in the design of our new building, to make sure our new facility best meets the needs of patients and staff. After all the planning and preparation it's great to see work start on site."
The new pharmacy is scheduled for completion in Autumn 2016, and will include a new aseptic unit, where highly specialised cancer and other medicines are prepared in sterile conditions. This will replace the temporary asceptic facility currently located near the main entrance to the RUH.
Regina Brophy, Chief Pharmacist at the RUH says, "Our current pharmacy was built in 1984 and so much has changed since then, the population is growing, new medicines have been developed and regulations are different. We've managed to keep up, but now we are looking to the future and creating a facility that will allow us to cope with further changes in demand, new medicines and increased standards of safety."
Regina adds, "The RUH's current pharmacy facilities are fully operational while the new building is under construction. There will be no disruption to the services we provide and patients will continue to have access to medicines and pharmaceutical advice."
The Pharmacy build site occupies part of Carpark P3 on the RUH site, resulting in limited visitor parking in this area; to ensure that there is no overall loss of parking provision while work is underway, a new car park has been created near the main entrance to the RUH. Visitors to the RUH site are advised to take these changes into account when planning their journey to the RUH.
Once decommissioned, the old pharmacy will be demolished, creating space to build new Rheumatogy, Orthopaedic and Therapies facilities, the next phase in the Trust's ambitious Fit for the Future programme of works.
ENDS
Notes to the Editor:
Fit for the Future- More details on the RUH estates redevelopment plans are available at www.ruh.nhs.uk/fit4future
- The Trust has had a planning application approved which seeks to increase the overall number of parking spaces available on site
- This will provide and additional 350 extra spaces, including 80 new spaces for staff
- The Trust is also planning to add extra bicycle and motor bike spaces and points for electric car charging in the near future