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There is insufficient evidence that double versus single checking of medication administration is associated with lower rates of MAEs or reduced harm. Most comparative studies fail to define or investigate the level of adherence to independent double checking, further limiting conclusions regarding effectiveness in error prevention. Higher-quality studies are needed to determine if, and in what context (eg, drug type, setting), double checking produces sufficient benefits in patient safety to warrant the considerable resources required.

The FIP hub includes: Modes of transmission and incubation period.. Pharmacy operations and facilities: ensuring safety and continuity of service. Preventive measures, including the use of masks. Pharmacy interventions and patient counselling. Treatment guidelines and medicines that may need to be stocked. Progress in medicines and vaccines development. Laboratory testing for COVID-19 in suspected human cases. Cleaning and disinfection products and procedures. Travel advice. This guidance is based on the available evidence and the recommendations of reputable organisations such as the World Health Organization, the United States and the European Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and others, at the time of publishing. Knowledge on COVID-19 is rapidly changing and recommendations may change accordingly. FIP is also providing educational webinars and new communication lines related to COVID-19.

This page aims to support you if you are deployed as a result of COVID-19. This page aims to provide you with: support in terms of mental health and wellbeing during this difficult time.contact e-mail addresses to Schools of Pharmacy for questions, pastoral care and for access to student support services.support and signposting to resources that will assist you in practice and enable you to practise competently and professionally.signposting to COVID 19 resources.

The NICE 2010 guidance (CG92) requires that all adult hospital inpatients undergo a VTE risk assessment (RA) using a standardised national VTE RA template – upon admission, again 48 hours later, and whenever the patient’s clinical condition changes. Based on the national template, clinicians at Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust (CHUFT) pioneered an electronic VTE RA tool that enables the assessment to be completed in 30 seconds. This tool has the added benefits of calculating the risk of VTE and recommending appropriate prophylaxis using a pharmacological and/or mechanical agent. This decision support tool is web-based and is now available to any organisation across the globe. The tool and the VTE prevention programme at Colchester Hospital won the 2010 NHS Innovation Award for Patient Safety.

The report comes after the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) looked at the case of 75-year old Ann Midson, who was left taking two powerful blood-thinning medications after a mix-up at her local hospital where she was receiving treatment whilst suffering from incurable cancer. Ann sadly died from her cancer 18 days after being discharged and the error with her medication was only picked up three days before. This led to the HSIB investigation to question why this happened, even when the hospital had an ePMA system in place. The report highlights that many NHS trusts across England are taking up this technology as they reduce medication errors, but that incomplete use of e-systems could create further risks to patient safety. The investigation found that often all the functions of ePMA systems aren’t being used and that staff switch between using paper record and digital records, increasing the likelihood of crucial information being missed. Ann’s case also highlighted the routine lack of information sharing between NHS services, such as GP surgeries and pharmacies. She had been taking one blood-thinning medication on admission. This was stopped during her time at the hospital, but this message was not relayed to her local pharmacy and she continued to take both after leaving the hospital. The report also identifies that the availability of a seven-day hospital pharmacy service is crucial to support a digital system and pick up any errors quickly. The length of time it took in Ann’s case had a huge effect on both her and her family. Ann’s daughter said: “Not only were we grieving the loss of mum but also that she had to deal with the stress and upset of this towards the end of her life. She had to spend a lot of time within different parts of the NHS and all we ever wanted was for her to get the best possible care at every stage.

This issue (episode 2) focuses on: the most common safety issues associated with measuring patient weight steps to eliminate drug concentration confusion understanding Patient Care Analgesia (PCA) by proxy.

There are nine standards that every pharmacy professional is accountable for meeting. The standards apply to all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians: provide person-centred care work in partnership with others communicate effectively maintain, develop and use their professional knowledge and skills use professional judgement behave in a professional manner respect and maintain the person’s confidentiality and privacy speak up when they have concerns or when things go wrong demonstrate leadership.

This module provides principles that community pharmacy teams can embed into their practice and use when reporting and learning from patient safety incidents. It aims to help pharmacy technicians: appreciate the importance of reporting patient safety incidents understand how sharing insights after something goes wrong can create learning opportunities for other pharmacy teams champion the important role that community pharmacy team members play in continuous improvement of the services they offer.

The challenge Some patients leaving hospital need advice and support to help them take their medicines correctly and safely. Around 60 per cent of patients have three or more changes made to their medicines during their stay in hospital, and only 10 per cent of older patients are discharged with the same medication they were taking before they went into hospital. In some cases, errors or unintentional changes to a patient’s medication can occur because of miscommunication. This can lead to patients becoming unwell and being readmitted to hospital, causing unnecessary distress to the patient and placing an avoidable burden on NHS resources. It is estimated that 6.5 per cent of emergency admissions are a result of adverse drug reactions, of which it is estimated that 72 per cent are avoidable. Actions taken In 2016, NHS England in Cheshire and Merseyside, in partnership with the Innovation Agency, received funding from NHS England to support the implementation of systems enabling the transfer of care from hospitals to community pharmacies. Soon afterwards, the initiative was adopted nationally by all Academic Health Science Networks and is one of the AHSN Network’s key innovation programmes. A secure digital system enables a hospital’s pharmacy team to inform the patient’s local pharmacy of the patient’s medicines on discharge, so the pharmacist can follow up with advice and services. Impacts Of all referrals from hospitals to community pharmacies through Transfer of Care Around Medicines, around 40 per cent require follow-up action from the pharmacist. It is estimated that for every 10 completed referrals, eight avoidable bed days are saved for the NHS. As of March 2019, Transfer of Care Around Medicines in Cheshire and Merseyside has been implemented in 10 trusts, including 11 hospitals, two mental health trusts and all 635 community pharmacies in the region – the fastest adoption and widest spread of the initiative in any region in England. There have been 14,853 referrals to community pharmacists at March 2019, of which 6,224 have been completed with further actions from the pharmacist, resulting in calculated savings of 5,103 bed days, or £9.5 million, to the NHS as well as improved patient safety and quality of care. Testimonial Una Harding, pharmacist at Day Lewis Pharmacy in Aintree, said: “We now get notifications on our system on a daily basis, it’s a platform we use every day. New discharges or referrals are the first thing you see when you log on. If we see a patient has recently been in hospital we can make a note to speak to them about their medication when they next come in." "Patients now understand we can deliver more for them. There’s a culture now where people are realising that their GP doesn’t always have to be the first port of call. They know now that if they come into the pharmacy we can talk to them about the changes to their medication." "It’s fabulous. Finally we’re getting more information so we can make more clinical decisions without having to hunt for information from different sources.” Hassan Argomandkhah, Chair of Pharmacy Local Professional Network NHS England Cheshire and Merseyside, said: “What started as an idea – we’ve managed to achieve it, and even if we’ve made just one small change in the quality of life of one patient in the past two years it’s been well worth it. None of this would have happened without the dedication of the pharmacists and their teams – whether in NHS England, in the community pharmacies, or in the hospital pharmacy teams – and all the other ancillary staff surrounding them. Without that support and encouragement we wouldn’t have achieved this.”