In managing compliance with approved standards of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust has implemented Q-Pulse to manage their quality management system (QMS).

Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust provides acute hospital-based services to more than 350,000 people from Colchester and the surrounding area of north-east Essex.

In the UK, pharmacies play a pivotal role in ensuring that the NHS can provide high quality services based on local needs. Government regulations and EU directives, including MHRA and EU GMP are exerting increasing pressure on Pharmacy departments to implement a more formal QMS.

‘Within Pharmacy, we wanted to manage our QMS activities more effectively, in continuing to meet MHRA requirements for our manufacturing licence, as well as in complying with approved GMP standards,’ explains Monica Douch, Quality Assurance Pharmacist at Colchester General Hospital.

‘From preparative services to the dispensary, and from administrative services to Quality Assurance, Q-Pulse offered us a solution to support our QMS processes, such as document management, exception management, change management, and internal audit.

‘By giving staff greater access to the appropriate information within our QMS, Q-Pulse has allowed us to use information more effectively throughout the department. In turn, the increased visibility of information through Q-Pulse has helped to improve ownership of management system activities.

‘In addition, Q-Pulse has given us the ability to notify staff automatically of overdue or upcoming actions through email reminders. This has also encouraged staff to take further ownership of activities and actions within the QMS for which they’re responsible. ‘Q-Pulse has also given us more control over our SOPs, forms and other controlled documents. Being able to track and monitor documents at each and every stage of the change control process helps us to make sure that controlled documents and their associated system records are accurate and up-to-date.’