Outpatient dispensaries

Freeman: 0191 233 6163 / Royal Victoria Infirmary: 0191 222 1220

Outpatient pharmacy services at the Freeman Hospital and Royal Victoria Infirmary sites are managed and staffed by Lloyds Pharmacy.

Locations and opening hours

Freeman Hospital

• Come through the Main Outpatient Department entrance
• Walk through the main clinic area to the end of clinic E until you reach a long corridor
• The Lloyds Pharmacy shop and outpatient dispensing area is on your right hand side

Royal Victoria Infirmary

• Enter the hospital through the New Victoria Wing entrance on Ground level 1 or follow the Pharmacy signs from other hospital entrances
• The Lloyds Pharmacy shop and outpatient dispensing area is located behind the Amigos shop

Our outpatient pharmacy facilities

The outpatient pharmacies at both hospitals are run by Lloyds pharmacies. They each feature a private consultation room where patients can talk to a pharmacist in confidence.

In addition, they offer a wide range of products including over the counter medicines and a range of health products.

Prescription collection

You or your representative can collect your medicines from the on-site Lloyds Outpatient Pharmacy before you leave the hospital, or prescriptions can be left and collected later – see opening hours above. Outpatient prescriptions are usually sent electronically to the pharmacy, and in most cases will be ready for collection around 30 minutes after they are received. If you’ve given the prescriber your mobile phone number, we will send you a text message when your medicine is ready to collect. We recommend that you connect to the Trust’s WiFi (NHS WiFi) while in the hospital to ensure that you receive the message. If you’ve been given a paper prescription you should take this to the pharmacy straight away, where you can leave it and call back later.

There is limited space to wait around the outpatient pharmacies, so we ask that you leave at least 30 minutes before going to collect your medicines unless it’s near closing time or we’ve contacted you to say it’s ready. Ideally you should go to the pharmacy alone unless you need help or you are accompanying a child or vulnerable person.

We have a delivery service for patients who have had a remote consultation (by telephone or video) and need a new medicine, or who receive repeat prescriptions for ‘hospital only’ medicines. Ask the staff in your clinic about this service.

Who can use our service?

Our outpatient dispensary services are provided primarily for Newcastle Hospitals’ outpatients attending clinics within the Trust, affiliated healthcare facilities and the  Newcastle Fertility Centre.

We are unable to dispense NHS prescriptions from your GP (FP10), NHS prescriptions from hospitals intended for dispensing at a retail pharmacy (FP10HP), or hospital prescriptions from other hospital Trusts.

Prescriptions will say whether they are intended for the Freeman Hospital or the Royal Victoria Infirmary dispensary. It may be possible, by prior arrangement, to have prescriptions dispensed at, or collected from an alternative Trust dispensary. To discuss this, please contact the relevant dispensary manager.

There is also a dedicated Clinical Trials Dispensary within the Northern Centre for Cancer Care for NCCC clinical trial dispensing only. This dispensary is managed by the Newcastle Hospitals.

Prescription charges

Charges are applicable for hospital outpatient prescriptions at the standard NHS rate.

If you attend as an outpatient, you will be supplied with a maximum of four weeks’ medication, unless a specific course states otherwise, or if the medicine is unavailable through your own GP.

Private prescription charges are variable and are determined at the point of dispensing. An estimate of the charge may be obtained in advance by contacting the relevant outpatient dispensary, but this may be subject to change.

Help with costs

Some people are eligible for exemption from charges for prescriptions and other types of NHS treatment. You can find out more information about the groups of patients that are exempt from prescription charges or those who may be entitled help with costs at Help with health costs or by asking for an HC11 leaflet which explains entitlement.

You can also obtain a copy from one of our Cashier’s Offices.

Contact us

Lloyds Outpatient Pharmacy Freeman

Telephone: 0191 233 6163

Lloyds Outpatient Pharmacy RVI

Telephone: 0191 222 1220