Getting Your Medicines Right
It is important that the people looking after you in hospital know what medicines you usually take so they can be prescribed and administered correctly.
You or your carer can help the hospital staff to get your medicines right during your hospital admission and help to reduce discharge delays by following these steps:
Before you come into hospital
Please make sure you have a plentiful supply of your usual medicines, including pain relief medicines, ready for your return home, eg Paracetamol.
If you are coming into the hospital for surgery, some of your medicines may need to be stopped. This will be explained to you by your surgeon or by the hospital pre-assessment team.
Please bring the following with you into hospital
- A copy of your most recent GP repeat prescription or list of medicines.
- A supply of all your current regular medicines including:
- Tablets/Capsules
- Patches
- Liquid medicines
- Suppositories/pessaries
- Eye/ear/nose drops
- Injections eg Insulin
- Inhalers/Nebules
- Herbal/homeopathic remedies
- Sprays
- Vitamins/supplements
- Skin creams/ointments
- Any other medication you buy regularly.
- Any recent clinic letters about medication prescribed by a hospital doctor that you are taking, as this may not be prescribed by your GP and may not appear on your repeat list.
On admission
Please hand over all your medicines to the nursing staff. It is important that you do not take any of your own medicines until these are prescribed. If you know a medication dose is due, please tell the nursing staff or doctor.
During admission
Your own medicines will be kept safely in your bedside locker. If you have controlled drug medication then this will have to be secured in the ward controlled drug cabinet.
If your hospital stay is greater than 24 hours then the hospital pharmacy team aim to check your medication history with you or your carer.
If you would like to take your own medication during your admission, please ask the ward staff about ‘self administration’.
At any stage of your stay, if you have any questions about your medication, or would like further information, please ask to speak to a pharmacist.
If you would like support with your medicines after leaving the hospital, or have been prescribed a new medicine for a long-term condition, the hospital pharmacy team can refer you to your local community pharmacy. Please discuss this with the hospital pharmacy team, who will ask for your consent to refer you.
When you leave hospital
The hospital doctor needs to prescribe your medication to take home. The prescription is then checked by a pharmacist and medicines ordered from the Pharmacy Department, if necessary. We will ensure you have adequate supplies of medicines to take home or you may have told us that you already have sufficient supplies of your medicines at home.
Please ask for your medicines to be explained to you, especially any changes. You can ask the pharmacy team or the nurse discharging you from the hospital.
You will be given an up to date list of your prescribed medicines, which you can take to your GP and your community pharmacy.
Keep your medicines out of the sight and reach of children.
Return any unused medicine to your community pharmacist for safe disposal.
Do not flush unused medicines down the toilet or throw them away.
Contact numbers
If you have any further questions about your discharge medicines after you have left the hospital, please:
Telephone the hospital pharmacy on 01305 255294, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm or speak to your community pharmacist.
About this leaflet
Author: Christine Dodd, Principal Pharmacist, Medication Safety and Governance
Written: February 2016
Updated and approved: March 2020, September 2023, December 2025
Review date: December 2028
Edition: v4
If you have feedback regarding the accuracy of the information contained in this leaflet, or if you would like a list of references used to develop this leaflet, please email patientinformation.leaflets@dchft.nhs.uk
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