2022-12-21 10:27:49
In recent years, there has been discussion about the extent to which workplace pressures have contributed to dispensing errors and to concerns about fitness to practise. The UK Chief Pharmaceutical Officers and the Chief Executives of the GPhC and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have sent a joint letter, dated 19 December 2022, to pharmacy teams around the UK. Amongst other things, the letter says:
“Please use your professional judgement to assess and mitigate risk, and to deliver safe and effective care for your patients. Your decisions should be informed by the regulators’ standards for pharmacy professionals and for registered pharmacy premises. These standards are designed to be adaptable and to provide a framework for decision-making in a wide range of situations.
In these challenging times, we understand you may be worried that concerns could be raised with the regulator about your practice. We want to reassure you that in the unlikely event that you are referred to your regulator, they will consider the context you were working in at the time, including factors relating to the environment in which you were working and all relevant resources, guidelines, or protocols.
We also expect employers, educational supervisors, professional bodies and national health and social care organisations to take the challenging situations you may be facing into account.”