Quality Services (Q.C.)

Quality Assurance (QA) is a wide-ranging concept that covers all matters which individually or collectively influence the quality of a product or service. It is the systems in place to ensure that medicinal products are of the quality required for their intended use.


In summary this includes:

• Assessment and testing of all starting materials, including raw materials and packaging components, used in the preparation of batch manufactured and extemporaneously prepared medicinal products by the Pharmacy Production Unit (Preparative Services).
• Assessment and testing of the finished products to ensure they contain the correct ingredients in the correct quantities, are not contaminated and are correctly labelled.
• Undertaking environmental monitoring of the Pharmacy Production Unit and Radiopharmacy facilities and equipment to ensure they are free from particulate and microbial contamination.
• Performing regular quality audits to check that all the necessary systems and procedures in the Pharmacy Production Unit and Radiopharmacy are in place and are complied with.
• Testing the quality of the medical gases (oxygen, nitrous oxide, entonox, medical and surgical air) provided via the hospital medical gas pipeline system.
• Monitoring and providing advice on the storage and stability of medicinal products.
• Following up reports of defective purchased products from the dispensary, wards, theatres etc.

Based at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich