Out of Hospital: Why Your Medicines Need Checking

Discharge is where mistakes happen

Medicines are frequently changed during a hospital stay — doses adjusted, items stopped, new ones started. The information does not always reach your GP and pharmacy cleanly, and patients often go home with both the old boxes and the new list.

The Discharge Medicines Service is an NHS service designed to catch exactly that. It is free.

What we check

The pharmacist compares what you were taking before with what the hospital has sent, identifies anything that has been stopped, started or changed, and makes sure your repeat list is updated so the old version does not quietly come back next month.

We also go through any new medicine with you properly — what it is for, how to take it, and what to expect.

What to bring

Your discharge letter if you have it, and ideally the medicines you had at home before you went in, including anything you have stopped. Seeing the actual boxes is far more reliable than a list from memory.

Any hospital

It does not matter which hospital you were in. If you have been discharged recently, come and see us — 1095–1097 Warwick Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham B27 6QT, open Monday to Saturday 9am–9pm and Sunday 10am–8pm.