Pharmacy Services
Expert medication support across Durham Dales
Our Pharmacy Team plays a vital role in strengthening primary care across all three Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and member GP practices.
Working at the heart of local healthcare, our pharmacists and pharmacy technicians help improve patient outcomes, optimise medicines, and support GP practices with increasingly complex healthcare demands.
By combining specialist clinical knowledge with a patient-centred approach, our Pharmacy Team helps people get the most from their medicines – improving safety, enhancing quality of life, and supporting patients to manage long-term conditions confidently and effectively.
Supporting Patients. Strengthening Practices.
Our pharmacy model blends centralised remote support with in-practice clinical care, enabling our teams to respond quickly to patient needs while easing pressure on GP practices.
Every day, our teams work alongside GPs, nurses, care homes, and administrative staff to deliver expert medication advice, clinical reviews, prescribing support, and patient consultations both remotely and face-to-face.
This integrated approach improves access to specialist medication expertise while helping practices maintain resilience and focus clinical time where it is needed most.
Pharmacy Team
Since the introduction of Primary Care Networks in 2019, DDHF’s Pharmacy Team has grown from a single pharmacist into a highly skilled workforce of over 20 professionals - Clinical Pharmacists some of whom are Independent Prescribers and Pharmacy Technicians.
Our Clinical Pharmacists are highly trained medication experts, holding Masters-level pharmacy qualifications and registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
Meet our pharmacy team and find out more about their roles within the federation.
Delivering Real Impact
During 2024/25, the DDHF Pharmacy Team delivered significant support across primary care services:
patient contacts completed
medication reviews undertaken
care home residents supported
The team also supports a wide range of clinicaland operational workstreams including:
Medication reviews and optimisation
Care home support
Telephone and face-to-face consultations
Prescribing safety audits
High-risk medication monitoring
Medication reconciliation following hospital discharge
Alternative medication sourcing during supply shortages
Support for patients with multiple long-term conditions
Putting Patients at the Centre of Care
A key part of our Pharmacy Team’s work is helping patients understand and manage their medications safely and effectively.
Our pharmacists conduct detailed medication reviews to explore:
- How well medications are working
- Side effects or concerns
- Interactions between medicines
- Opportunities to improve treatment outcomes
For patients taking multiple medications or living with several long-term conditions, this specialist support can make a significant difference to health, wellbeing, and independence.
Our Pharmacy Technicians also provide valuable patient-facing support through:
- Telephone consultations
- Face-to-face appointments
- Home visits
- Lifestyle and preventative medication advice
- Follow-up support after GP appointments
By supporting patients proactively, our teams help reduce avoidable hospital admissions and improve long-term health outcomes.
Supporting Safer Prescribing
Patient safety is central to everything we do.
Our Pharmacy Teams regularly carry out monitoring and safety checks for higher-risk medications, helping ensure patients receive the correct blood test monitoring and ongoing review.
The team also supports national NHS priorities including:
- Reducing antimicrobial resistance
- Reviewing high-risk prescribing
- Supporting frail and elderly patients
- Improving safe opioid prescribing
- Reducing the environmental impact of medicines
Working Together Across Primary Care
Our Pharmacy Team works collaboratively with GP practices every day to provide expert clinical support and reduce pressure on frontline services.
This includes:
- Supporting acute medication requests
- Providing advice on complex medication issues
- Completing annual medication reviews
- Liaising with hospitals following discharge
- Helping practices improve prescribing processes and workflows
By supporting patients proactively, our teams help reduce avoidable hospital admissions and improve long-term health outcomes.
What our Patients Have to Say
Working Together for Better Urgent Care
DDHF’s Same Day Urgent Care Service is built on collaboration across primary care, urgent care, and wider NHS partners.
By integrating urgent appointments, extended access, and emergency department streaming into one coordinated model, we are helping create a more responsive, sustainable, and patient-focused healthcare system for local communities.