Updated standards for aseptic preparation services released

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has launched new standards for aseptic preparation services as part of its library of professional standards on the RPS website.

The Quality Assurance of Aseptic Preparation Services (QAAPs) standards, which are the result of a joint initiative between the RPS and the NHS Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance Committee, relate to all products prepared aseptically in unlicensed NHS units for administration to patients and are aimed at pharmacy managers, staff working in aseptic preparation units and those who are responsible for auditing the services.

The fifth edition of the standards has been revised and expanded to include several new standards and an increased emphasis on ‘pharmaceutical quality systems’. The standards are the basis for regular audit of all unlicensed aseptic preparation services.

A ‘Quality assurance of aseptic preparation services: standards handbook’, which will incorporate both the standards and additional support resources, is under development and will be available in 2016.