Medication and pharmacy services

Information about mental health medication

Click here for information dedicated to helping you make choices and decisions about your medication treatment. This site provides answers to the key questions about 130 mental health medicines and 20 mental health conditions.

You can download a handy PILL (Patient Information Leaflet), a two-page summary of the main questions and answers, or a QuILL (Quick Information Leaflet), a shorter, pictorial version of the PILL designed for younger people.  There are also summary charts comparing the main medications for each mental health condition.

Contacting the clinical pharmacy team

If you would like to discuss your medication with a member of our team then discuss this with your doctor or nurse and they will arrange this for you.

What sort of questions can I ask about medication?

We can answer, or find an answer to, almost any question about your medication. Here are some specific areas where we can help:

• What is my medicine used for and how does it work?
• Does anything need to be checked before I start a new medicine
• How should I take my medicine?
• What side-effects might my medicine cause?
• How should my medicine be stored?
• What will happen if I stop taking my medicine?

What questions will the team ask me?

The pharmacy team ask for information from you and healthcare professionals, to ensure that the medication you are given is the most appropriate for you. Typical questions are:

• What medicines does your GP prescribe for you at the moment?
• What medicines have you tried in the past?
• Have other medicines been helpful?
• Have you had side-effects in the past?

Don’t worry if you don’t know the answers to these questions, we can speak on your behalf to other professionals such as your GP, when we need to.

What support can we provide?

By being involved with you, and the rest of your healthcare team, we can help in deciding on the medicines most likely to work for you. As well as discussing the choice of medication, the team can help in a number of other ways. We can:

• Help you to arrange the supply of your medicines when you are discharged from one of our wards.
• Discuss any problems you may have in remembering to take your medicine at the right time.
• Provide you with leaflets and other information about the medicines you are taking.
• Show you where you can find out more information about your medicine and what other treatments may be available.

Medicine supplies

If you are admitted to one of our wards, then you will be provided with a supply of medication at the time you are discharged. Your GP will also be told about your medicines at this time, so that you will be able to get further prescriptions from them once discharged. If you are prescribed a medicine that is only available from the hospital this will be explained to you.