Hospice Pharmacy Services

Ashtons is proud to be the leading provider of specialist pharmacy services to independent healthcare providers in the UK. We have more than twenty five years experience in promoting the safe and effective use of medication.

We are committed to helping you ensure your patients get the very best palliative care treatment. Our range of pharmacy services has been designed, developed and continually refined for over 25 years to help hospices throughout the UK meet the specific requirements of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW).

Medicines Management

Maintaining best practice and professional standards in medicines management is crucial to the delivery of high quality patient care. We ensure our clients are using medicines management policies and processes that meet these standards and are in line with regulatory requirements.
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Regulatory Compliance

Helping to maintain and develop the reputations of our partners is a key goal for Ashtons. We will also work with you to review your medicines policies and procedures to help minimise clinical risk and help you achieve best practice standards.
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Product Supply

Due to changes in legislation we are aware that many hospices are having to obtain medication from different sources. This hybrid system of supply is often overly expensive, complex and time-consuming for nursing staff. Your hospice can order everything you need from Ashtons. We truly are a one stop shop.
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Training

Our training courses are tightly focused to be relevant to the needs of doctors, nurses and healthcare assistants working for our hospice clients. They support compliance goals and help enhance skills and continuous development.
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About us

We are experts in medicines management

Our team includes an industry-leading expert in palliative care pharmacy, founder members of the Hospice Pharmacy Association, and a team of experienced palliative care pharmacists. We are focused on helping hospices to use their medication safely, effectively and in compliance with all relevant regulatory requirements.

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Opioids – rational approaches to their use in acute and chronic pain

Articles in medical and pharmacy journals this month are asking us to adopt safer and more rational approaches to prescribing opioids. One comes from experts in chronic pain, notably Cathy Stannard, consultant in complex pain and Clinical Lead for the Pain Transformation Programme at NHS Gloucestershire CCG (1), and her…

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blood cells

Drug treatment options for surface bleeding

Wound care can take a different approach towards the end of life as healing may be an unrealistic aim. We use nursing skills and knowledge to keep the area and the patient as comfortable and contained as possible. Malignant wounds can be caused by direct tumour invasion into the…

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Pre-emptive prescribing for syringe pumps – safe practice?

A letter in the recent BMJ Supportive and Palliative care journal(1) has raised questions on the safety of prescribing for 24-hour syringe pumps ahead of need. It reflects that the Gosport War Memorial inquiry has increased public and clinical awareness of the use of syringe pumps for the delivery of opioids…

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NG61: End of life care for infants, children and young people

This NICE guideline was updated in July 2019 and covers the planning and management of end of life and palliative care for infants, children and young people (aged 0–17 years) with life-limiting conditions. It aims to improve the support available and involve young people and their families in decisions…

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hospice staff worker with elderly patient

Clinical guideline updates May-July 2019

NG131: Prostate cancer: diagnosis and management. This NICE guideline was published in May 2019 and covers the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer in secondary care, including information on the best way to diagnose and identify different stages of the disease, and how to manage adverse effects of treatment…

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Ashtons attends Hospice UK conferences

Our research has indicated that many of your colleagues at hospices around the country are finding it increasingly challenging to obtain a consistent, reliable and legal supply of stock medication. Many medication suppliers are finding it a challenge to meet the increasingly stringent regulations imposed by the MHRA with its…

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Recent queries from hospices – April 2019

Questions on medicines, procedures and practice from hospice staff 1. Can we crush the patient’s cardiac medication to go via her PEG? Each medication needs to be considered individually as there are specific issues with certain preparations which might not be predicted. Most immediate-release film-coated tablets may be crushed and…

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Topical treatment options for painful mouth

Pain in the mouth is a distressing problem and affects so many essential activities. It can have many causes and good mouthcare is of enormous benefit to all patients, particularly towards the end of life. NICE guidelines (NG48) and quality standards (QS151) are in place for oral health for adults…

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