Celebrating five years of London Ambulance Service’s pioneering pharmacy team

London Ambulance Service is celebrating five years of its trailblazing pharmacy team.

Launched in July 2021, the team that started with just four people has developed into a 45-strong outfit, the largest pharmaceutical team of any ambulance service in the country.

The team has transformed the way drugs and medicines are stored, tracked and accessed by ambulance crews and clinicians around London, ensuring patients can receive vital drugs and pain-killing medicines when they need them safely.

Chief Pharmacist Sumithra Maheswaran said:

“Our ambulance crews are working in fast-moving and often challenging environments where patients need emergency care. They must be able to access the right medicines immediately to deliver safe and effective treatment. That would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of our pharmacy team.”

The team has doubled the number of medicine kits prepared each month to more than 15,000, with each kit containing medicines for specific emergency situations. New systems and ways of working have also saved the service £200,000 a year.

Other notable changes include the introduction of electronic tracking of every drug from pallet to patient, moving away from paper-based records. Together, these developments bring all medicines management activities under a single digital system.

A fully automated temperature monitoring system has been introduced across secure medicines rooms, helping to ensure medicines are stored safely at all times. The team, in partnership with Barts Health NHS Trust, delivered the first ambulance pharmacy technician apprenticeship in the country.

The pharmacy team’s work has been recognised nationally, including Innovation Champion at the 2023 Ambulance Leadership Forum Awards and Regional Champion for Delivering Value at the 2026 NHS Excellence Awards.

The team has secured a wholesale dealer’s licence, allowing it to play a greater role in the medicines supply chain and provide other healthcare organisations with vital medicines.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Fenella Wrigley MBE said:

“The pharmacy team plays a key role in delivering safe emergency care across London.

“Our clinicians care for patients who may be in a lot of pain, or have life-threatening illnesses or injuries. To do their jobs they need immediate access to the right medicines to deliver safe and effective treatment.

“Over the past five years, the team has improved patient safety and developed systems that other services are now learning from.”