BURGER / PHANIE / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has published updated professional standards to support pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy teams in responding to patient safety incidents.
Created in collaboration with the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) and the Pharmacy Forum Northern Ireland (PFNI), the ‘Patient safety professional standards: responding to patient safety incidents’ are designed to support pharmacy professionals to meet regulatory standards.
The standards, published on 24 April 2024, reflect new legislation and updated guidance from the General Pharmaceutical Council and NHS England, replacing the previous standards published in 2016.
They also provide a framework for reflecting, reporting and recording incidents, and sharing learning, taking action and reviewing and evaluating incidents as part of a patient safety culture.
The update was led by an expert steering group, with feedback from patients and patient safety specialists.
Commenting on the new standards, Regina Ahmed, guidance manager at the RPS, said they were “the fruitful outcome of the collaboration between professional leadership bodies alongside patient safety subject matter experts”.
“Their implementation will help demonstrate the patient safety culture we wish to see in all pharmacy teams,” she added.
Nicola Stockmann, president of APTUK, said the association was “pleased to have prompted the review and subsequently supported with input to the significant update” to the standards.
“The updated standards can be used by the entire pharmacy team to assist with professional judgement and management of events, including supporting those impacted,” she added.
Julie Greenfield, PFNI manager, said: “By working together, the review and update of the standards and guidance aligns with current best practice, is relevant for all pharmacy team members and, importantly, ensures consistency UK-wide.”
The RPS will be hosting a webinar to discuss the implementation of the new standards on 9 May 2024.
