CPD Activity

Before you start reading this article, think about:

• What do I want to learn?
• What will I gain from this learning?
• What will my employer gain?
• What difference will it make to people who use my services?

Patient safety is integral to what pharmacy professionals do, but due to the nature of their day-to-day work, there will be inherent risks. This learning campaign considers what these risks are and how to minimise them, and aims to support pharmacy professionals to manage incidents when they do occur. This campaign began on 26 February and includes six weekly challenges outlined in this module. 

Pharmacy’s objective is to offer the best care to patients and improve their quality of life. This is done through the responsible provision of appropriate medicines and advice. Despite best intentions, sometimes things can go wrong and this can impact on the wellbeing of the staff member, the patients and the organisation as a whole.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), everyone is obliged to risk assess their work and put the appropriate actions in place to safeguard themselves, their colleagues and the public who are impacted by their work. For pharmacy practice, this is reinforced through the GPhC standards for registered pharmacies and standards for pharmacy professionals.

Understanding what can go wrong and how it can go wrong provides pharmacy teams with vital information to identify risky situations. Ideally, teams should aim to put safeguards in place to prevent their occurrence.