Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Andrew Evans sees Electronic Prescription Service in action
31 July 2024
The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Wales, Andrew Evans, visited a Caerphilly GP practice and pharmacy today to find out how the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) is benefiting patients and healthcare staff.
The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer visited the Village Surgery and Well Pharmacy in Llanbradach to see the impact of EPS, which has been available here since the spring. He was joined by Jenny Pugh-Jones, Chair of the Primary Care EPS programme in Wales, and Mark Allen, Community Pharmacy Lead at Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW), who are leading the roll out of the service across Wales.
Electronic prescriptions allow GPs and other prescribers to send prescriptions securely to the patient’s community pharmacy of choice. EPS makes things easier, safer and more efficient for patients and healthcare staff and is also good for the environment as, in most cases, there’s no longer a need for the green paper form to be printed and taken to the pharmacy.
The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer said: “I am delighted to see first-hand how the Electronic Prescription Service is already benefiting patients, GPs and pharmacists in Llanbradach.
“The service is improving convenience for patients and increasing efficiency at the GP practice and pharmacy, reducing bureaucracy and freeing up more of clinicians’ time to spend helping patients. Removing the need for paper prescriptions enables pharmacists to offer more clinical services, improving access for patients and taking pressure off other parts of the NHS.
“The rollout of the Electronic Prescription Service supports the transformation of the role of community pharmacies in Wales. I look forward to seeing it continue to every part of Wales.”
Jenny Pugh-Jones said: “I’m delighted to join Mr Evans in Llanbradach today to see the very real benefits that EPS is bringing to patients in Wales. We have been working closely with GP practices and community pharmacies to make EPS a reality, with a growing number of sites now live across Wales and more to follow.
“Staff tell us that EPS is freeing up more time for patient care and enables them to track the location of a prescription at any time. We’re looking forward to EPS rolling out across the whole of Wales as quickly and safely as possible.”
The Electronic Prescription Service was launched in Rhyl, Denbighshire, last year. It is being rolled out in a phased approach as pharmacies and GP surgeries become ready to start using the service.
EPS is a key part of Digital Medicines, a transformation programme managed by DHCW, which makes the process of prescribing and dispensing medicines safer, easier and more efficient for patients and health care professionals.
Photo caption, l-r: Village Surgery GP Dr Toby Skellern, Well Pharmacy EPS Lead Charlotte Corrigan, Well Pharmacy Regional Manager Sam Ghafar, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Wales Andrew Evans, Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Wales Emma Williams and Chair of Primary Care EPS in Wales Jenny Pugh-Jones