Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in (a) dispensing and (b) delivering prescriptions to patients awaiting hospital discharge.

Reasons for delayed discharge are various and include hospital process delays and patients awaiting the start of home-based care, residential, nursing home or intermediate care placements. Enabling people to be discharged from hospital more quickly with the right care and support in place contributes to speedier recovery and better outcomes for patients. The Government is providing £1.6 billion of funding over the next two years to enable the National Health Service and local authorities to improve hospital discharge.

Following discharge, the Discharge Medicines Service (DMS) enables hospitals to refer discharged patients to community pharmacy with information about medication changes made in hospital, community pharmacy can support patients to improve outcomes and prevent harm. Pharmacy delivery services are not usually commissioned or funded by the NHS. Decisions on how to dispense and supply medicines to patients who have specific needs should be made locally with due consideration of the individual’s needs, in collaboration with the local primary care team.