Medicines Advice

There may be changes made to your medications depending on your condition. If you or your carers have any questions about why medications have been stopped, started or changed please ask. The ward pharmacy team can answer questions about your medications such as side effects and discuss any other concerns. 

For regular medication the pharmacy staff on the ward will ensure you have sufficient supply of all your medication, allowing you enough time to visit your GP, if necessary for another prescription. 

When you leave hospital, you will be given: 

• A discharge letter telling you all the medicines the hospital has prescribed for you 
• Any newly started or changed medicines 
• Some more of your own medicines returned to you if you are still taking them. 

For medicines that you don’t take every day or only when you need them, We will only supply a small amount, for example one box. If you require more, please contact your GP. They may ask for a copy of your discharge letter.  

Follow the instructions on your medicines’ label. If you have been given any medicines without your name on the label or without any instructions contact the Medicines Helpline, or the ward you were discharged from for advice. 

Wards and departments can be contacted via switchboard:  

0113 243 3144

If your medication has changed, you may be offered a referral to your community pharmacy discharge medicines service (DMS). If so the pharmacist will be informed of any changes that have been made so they can support you by explaining the purpose of each medication, any possible side effects and how to safely take them. 

A copy of your discharge letter will be sent to your GP.  

This letter will list your medicines and any changes made during your hospital stay. Your GP will then be able to give you a prescription for more medications that are to continue, which you can get at your local pharmacy. 

Remember that your GP might need time to issue the prescription and they might need to see you first.  

If you have been discharged with a blister pack or are newly started on a blister pack to help you with your medicines, it may take longer to organise more packs so get in touch with your GP as soon as you can. We also inform your community pharmacy when you are admitted to hospital so they are aware of you being in hospital and that there may be changes to your medicines. 

You can also contact your local pharmacy to confirm they have received your prescription after a request is made. 

Your GP will receive details of all the medication prescribed for you in hospital. 

Sometimes GPs may need further information to be able to prescribe some of the specialist medication you have been prescribed in hospital. Some medicines will continue to be prescribed by the hospital. Your GP team can contact the Medicines Helpline for advice if needed. 

All medicines provided by the hospital should have an information leaflet inside the box. 

Your local community pharmacist can answer questions about your medicines.  

The NHS website has an A to Z of medicines with information on medicines such as common uses and side effects.

If you have a symptom which you think may be a side effect of your medicine: 

• check the patient information leaflet supplied with the medicine. This lists the known side effects and advises what to do 
• ask your doctor, pharmacist, or the Trust Medicines Helpline for advice 

You can report side effects using the Yellow Card scheme. Ask your pharmacist for a yellow card for which you can complete and post, or visit the Yellow Card | Making medicines and medical devices safer website. 

Medicines can be dangerous and must be disposed of safely. Never dispose of medicines in the household waste or down the sink.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals do not currently offer medicines recycling schemes directly to patients. Such schemes may be available through community pharmacies and in some cases directly through pharmaceutical companies. View a list of available schemes on Medicines, pharmacy and the environment : West Yorkshire Health & Care Partnership

If recycling is not an option for your items, community pharmacies will dispose of your items safely for you.

This information can be found in the patient information leaflet for the medicine. 

Advice would be to keep all medicines: 

• in the bottle or box they came in (labels intact) 
• in a cool safe place (away from heat or high temperatures) 
• out of reach and sight of children and animals 
• where you or a carer can easily find them (for example the same place each time) 

Please do not store medicines in the fridge or freezer, unless the label or your pharmacist asks you to do so. 

If your questions haven’t been answered or you need to know more, you can contact our free Medicines Advice service. It is run by specially trained pharmacy staff. 

We can only answer questions about medicines that you’ve received from our hospital, for example, If you have questions about: 

• New or changed medicines 
• When and how to take your medicines 
• Side effects of your medicines

We might ask you: 

• What your medicines are for 
• If we can look at your medical records 

To contact us call 0113 2064376 

The helpline is open from Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm 

You can speak to your local pharmacist about any other medicine related concerns. 

If you have an urgent question about your medicines, or medicines that are making you feel unwell, please contact your GP or Urgent and emergency care services – NHS. NHS 111 may also be able to help if you need advice urgently.

Please contact the ward you were discharged from if you have questions about: 

• Dressings, bandages and/or wound care 
• Nutritional supplements such as feeds and drinks 
• Appliances, such as stockings, needles, catheters etc.

If you are struggling to find a local pharmacy in your area, you can find one by visiting the following Pharmacies – NHS Website.