Patient safety

Half of hospital trusts require staff to have training on time-critical medication, charity finds

Parkinson's UK, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and other healthcare bodies have called on the government to ensure NHS trusts have policies in place to enable patients to receive their medicines on time.…

Case-based learning: safe withdrawal and tapering of antidepressants

How to use hyperbolic tapering to avoid withdrawal effects when stopping an antidepressant.…

Delivering sustainable medicines optimisation from research to practice

The 29th Health Service Research and Pharmacy Practice (HSRPP) Conference returned as a face-to-face event in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on 16–18 April 2023. This year’s theme was ‘Partnerships in Healthcare: Advancing Sustainable Medicines Optimisation’, which welcomed research addressing…

The development of a tool to evaluate prescribers’ documentation in relation to the RPS competency framework

In 2016, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) published a competency framework for all prescribers, detailing expected standards for the patient consultation and for documentation of the consultation to support safe and competent prescribing​[1]​. Although documentation does not have its …

MHRA issues drug safety warning on hyoscine bromide patches

The regulator told The Pharmaceutical Journal that there had been seven yellow card reports of anticholinergic syndrome as a side effect of hyoscine hydrobromide patches.…

Beyond ‘safety of supply’: a response to Harry McQuillan’s lecture

The emphasis placed by Harry McQuillan, chief executive of Community Pharmacy Scotland, on the need for community pharmacists in the UK to transition from an 'accuracy of supply' model to a 'safety of supply' model is certainly worthy of attention. However, I argue that we must not stop th…

Patient safety commissioner begins work on compensating families affected by sodium valproate

Exclusive: The patient safety commissioner will publish a report on redress options for people affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.…

National patient safety alert issued for GLP-1 receptor agonists

The alert warns healthcare providers not to switch between brands or double up on lower-dose preparations when the higher dose is unavailable.…

Depression and ‘the pill’: untangling the evidence

A closer look at the conflicting evidence around links between the oral contraceptive and mood changes, following calls for more research in this area.…

‘Painkillers don’t exist’: how our campaign helped to reduce opioid prescribing

Educating patients on the risks of analgesics and non-pharmacological alternatives has helped North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board reduce opioid prescribing.…