CW Medicines pharmacy officially opens

The outpatient pharmacy at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital site of our Trust recently underwent a big change, from Boots to new Trust subsidiary company CW Medicines Ltd. This new service has been running since April 2022, and was developed to ensure quality patient experience in a cost-effective manner. The pharmacy will dispense 125,000 prescriptions per year. 

CW Medicines does not have the retail elements of the former Boots, focusing instead on delivering efficiency for patients collecting their prescriptions. Colleagues from Boots transferred to CW Medicines, working hard to ensure a smooth transition for patients, and bringing with them their valuable expertise and commitment. 

The opening on Tue 23 Aug was attended by the pharmacy team, including Superintendent Pharmacist Chirag Patel and Deputy Superintendent Pharmacist Asha Abdi, and our Trust Chief Pharmacist Deirdre Linnard.

They were joined by Non-Executive Director and Chair of the CW Medicines Board Gill Galliano, as well as Chief Executive Lesley Watts, Chief Medical Officer Roger Chinn, and Chief Financial Officer Virginia Massaro. 

Chirag demonstrated to our executives how the new dispensary machine allows patients to efficiently collect prescriptions. This automated prescription machine is the first of its kind at a Trust pharmacy in London, and something the team are very proud of. 

Lesley Watts, Chief Executive, said: “During the two to three years of planning, our main focus was on how we could do things better for our patients. We were really pleased that our staff from Boots transferred over and joined us. Katey Hewitt, Nicola Forman, Chirag Patel, Asha Abdi and the whole team should be very proud. Welcome to the heart of our hospital, we’re really pleased to have you here as part of our team."

Deirdre Linnard, Chief Pharmacist, said: “Thanks to the whole team for bringing this to fruition. We’ve had a really fantastic and successful partnership over the years with our Boots colleagues, and we’re delighted to have you. We’re always looking to improve, we want to support and develop our staff. We are a new company, and we need to learn from each other. A huge thank you to everyone, and we are really looking forward to working with you all going forward."