41. Prison pharmacy services with Denise Farmer

Welcome to this episode of Talking Meds, discussing medicines optimisation challenges for people in secure settings such as prisons. Your host, Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Denise Farmer.

Denise is Pharmaceutical Adviser for Health and Justice Commissioning at NHS England. She has a longstanding interest in pharmacy services and medicines pathways in health and justice settings from local to national levels. She first entered a prison in Norfolk while working in a Primary Care Trust (PCT) in 2002 and never really left!

Denise’s role provides strategic support for commissioners and service providers. She leads delivery of national H&J medicines policy and strategy to improve medicines optimisation in secure custodial environments.

Further information about NHS England's commissioned services for people in prisons, immigration removal centres and secure environments for children and young people is available here: NHS commissioning » Health and justice

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• PrescQIPP resources with recommendations about health and justice and contact details.
• Shared resources awards project 2025
• https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/news/what-i-do-as-a-pharmacist-in-the-prison-service
• Providing pharmacy services for secure environments (2026) : CPPE
• RPS professional standards: Optimising Medicines in Secure Environments
• RCGPSEG: Safer prescribing in Prisons and other useful resources: Secure environments group and the affiliated UK Health and Justice Network
• Health and Justice Medicines Optimisation Network - Futures (NHS Login required)
• HEE/NHS WTE Careers map has a HJ area and an example in their case studies: Health & Justice - Pharmacy Careers
• SPS run webinars/events for secure environments teams and stakeholders: Latest developments in Health and Justice Medicines Optimisation – NHS SPS - Specialist Pharmacy Service – The first stop for professional medicines advice

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available on the first Friday of the month.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

Find out more about PrescQIPP here