“Hazardous medicines should be prepared under appropriate conditions to minimise the risk of contaminating the product and exposing hospital personnel, patients and the environment to harm"
To achieve this there will need to be a multidisciplinary risk assessment of the hazardous medicines to determine where and how it is best pre- pared.
What does it mean for patients? Hazardous medicines such as cytotoxics, radiopharmaceuticals and gene therapy need special handling. Hospital pharmacists have the facilities and the skills to produce safe preparations.
What does it mean for healthcare professionals? Hazardous medicines such as cytotoxics, radiopharmaceuticals and gene therapy can harm healthcare professionals if prepared on the ward. Hospital pharmacists have the facilities and the skills to produce safe preparations and thus reduce the risk of such harm.
What does it mean for Hospital Pharmacists? Centralised cytotoxic preparation using safe technique and appropriate technology should be implemented in every hospital handling such drugs.
Hospital pharmacists should ensure that policies are in place to prohibit the preparation of cytotoxic drugs at ward level, including when they are clinically needed in emergency situations.
The Hospital Universitario Clinico San Carlos is SILCC Host providing training on this Statement. Please learn more about the SILCC programme here.
