Describing the Specialist Pharmacy Service

Our teams
SPS consists of the following five main functions.
Digital
The SPS Digital function maintains and develops the digital product offer. It works both across each SPS function and with external suppliers and stakeholders. It seeks to deliver value to end-users from SPS’s digital offer. It does this be applying the NHS Digital Service manual as well as other national and international best practice usability, design and development standards.
Medicines Information
The SPS MI function provides specialist information and advice about medicines use for health care professionals. There are 3 core service elements to the MI function: clinical enquiry answering, provision of information and resources, and support to the Regional Medicines Optimisation Committee network.
Medicines use and safety
The SPS Medicines Use and Safety function supports the safe use of medicines across the NHS by providing resources and outputs that prevent duplication, and by developing and facilitating professional networks.
Procurement
The pharmacy procurement function aims to ensure that hospital pharmacy procurement teams can always access the medicines they need. This may range from resolving requests relating to a single patient, to helping coordinate national approaches to distribution and supply, and everything in between. If the problem relates to medicines supply, we will try to fix it.
Quality assurance
The SPS QA Function supports the continuous quality improvement in the governance arrangements for the safe handling, preparation and purchasing of medicines across the NHS through the provision of advice, best practice guidance and implementation resources.
Our contracts and providers
SPS is commissioned by NHS England to provide services across the NHS England regions.
The supra-organisational arrangement of the service enables access to expertise and knowledge at a cost which is very significantly less than would be the case if the functions were replicated locally.
Our users
We serve professionals across the NHS who are involved in all aspects of buying, making and using medicines.
We are looking forward to chatting to you further at C2.