Definitions

The following definitions clarify the scope of items included in the average stock holding supplied by the ward pharmacy. This stock holding refers specifically to medicines routinely maintained on wards for patient care. To ensure consistency and accuracy, the definitions distinguish between included and excluded items—highlighting that only pharmacy-supplied medicines are counted, while clinical consumables, equipment, and specialty-specific items are excluded. Additionally, the term “wards” refers to all departments receiving pharmacy stock and providing direct patient care.

Stock Holding

This is the average ward pharmacy-supplied holding. The table below shows you the inclusions / exclusions.

Clinical Consumables – EXCLUDED

  • Dressings (e.g., gauze, bandages, wound care products)
  • Syringes and needles
  • Gloves and personal protective equipment (PPE)
  • Catheters and drainage bags
  • IV administration sets and fluids
  • Swabs and cleaning agents

Medicines – INCLUDED

  • Commonly used oral and topical medications (e.g., paracetamol, ibuprofen, creams)
  • Emergency medications (e.g., adrenaline/epinephrine for anaphylaxis)
  • Pre-packs for specific patient groups (e.g., antenatal, haem/oncology patient packs)
  • Controlled drugs, where appropriate and securely stored3

Equipment – EXCLUDED

  • Crash trolleys (stocked with resuscitation equipment and emergency drugs)
  • Oxygen cylinders and related equipment
  • Diagnostic tools (e.g., blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, pulse oximeters)
  • Specialized devices relevant to the ward (e.g., infusion pumps, suction equipment)

Specialty-Specific Items – EXCLUDED

  • For example, maternity wards may stock neonatal resuscitation equipment, while surgical wards may have specific wound care or drain management kits.
  • Some wards may have patient-specific packs (e.g., for antenatal or oncology patients)

Wards

  • This is the number of wards and departments which have a stock holding supplied by pharmacy, and serves patients
  • The table below contains examples of wards and departments which likely fall within the definition

A picture of a table with the definitions information.

Next Steps

Use our interactive Medicines Automation benefits calculator to see how much time, money, and resource your trust could save by adopting medicines automation.

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