Case study:

11 May 2010

Palliative Care Team’s 24-hour on-call pharmacy service in Camden and UCLH

Key points

Camden and UCLH (University College London Hospital) Palliative Care Team, together with the Royal Free palliative care team, helped to set up a 24-hour on-call pharmacy service to manage patients’ symptoms at the end of their life where pre-emptive prescribing had failed because of their rapidly changing symptoms.

The new arrangement, which is available to palliative care teams providing on-call services in two neighbouring PCTs, has prevented unnecessary hospital admissions and supported choice for those who wish to die at home.

The decision was prompted by UCLH’s decision to dispense with its 24-hour resident pharmacist who had previously provided access to out of hours medication.

As a result Camden PCT negotiated a contract with a local pharmacy to hold a stock of palliative care drugs and provide a 24-hour on-call service.

The pharmacy chosen already provided medications to a local hospice and so stocked appropriate medication.

Team members set up a Palliative Care Steering Group with a local out of hours primary care provider.

The steering group then helped produce a palliative care drug box, which would be available to doctors working within CAMIDOC, the out of hours provider of GP services.

The new service, which costs £2,000 a year, has just completed its first year and has already been approved for a second year.

An evaluation is ongoing.