Professional guidances - raising concerns

Question 1

What is a pharmacists duty regarding to raising concerns

Answer 1

Professional duty- must take action to protect wellbeing of patients and public.
Must be prepared to challenge judgement of colleagues and professionals if you have reason to believe that their decisions could affect the safety/care of others. Make the relevant authorities aware of policies, systems, working conditions, performance or health if they may affect patient safety. And deal with concerns appropriately as part of the standards for pharmacy professionals

Question 2

What is the act/law that protects employees who raise genuine concerns and expose malpractice in the workplace from unfair treatment or victimisation from the employer. Who doesn’t it apply to?

Answer 2

Public interest disclosure act 1998

Locums
students

Question 3

What is a freedom to speak up guardian?

Answer 3

Individual who is independent of the line of management chain and is not the direct employer. Ensures policies are in place e.g. could be a member of local CCG

Question 4

If you are raising a genuine concern - what should you not do?

Answer 4

Not gather evidence yourself
Make allegations
Cannot confuse a genuine concern with a personal grievance

Question 5

If you are raising a genuine concern - what should you do?

Answer 5

Understand it is ok to speak up even if you may be mistaken

• read whisleblowing policy at organisation and see who you need to speak to
• stick to facts, only report what you have witnessed

Question 6

Is it better to raise a concern confidentially or anonymously?

Answer 6

Confidentially. If raise anonymously - its harder to raise a concern if people cannot ask follow up questions. It is easier to get protection under PIDA if concerns are raised openly.
It can lead people to focus on the whisleblower, maybe suspecting that they are raising maliciously

Question 7

What are the 4 conditions that would mean that if a pharmacist made a dispensing error - they wouldn’t have a criminal record against them / be acquitted?
- The pharmacy order 2018

Does this apply in a hospital pharmacy?

Answer 7

• Occurred in a registered pharmacy
• By or under supervision of registered pharmacist
• Supplied against a prescription/PGD/emergency supply/direction from prescriber
• promptly notified the patient once they were aware of it

No - as hospital pharmacies are not ‘registered’ pharmacies but plans to introduce similar measures

Question 8

How are complaints to be handled?

Answer 8

Part of standards for pharm professionals to provide person centred care

Question 9

What should be done when you find out an error has been made? e.g. if a patient has come in saying you’ve given the incorrect medicine

Answer 9

Promptly find out if the patient has taken it, establish the degree of harm that they could have come to and either refer to GP/hospital.

• ask them to inspect incorrect medicine but make it clear you don’t want keep it just inspect
• If don’t want to give - keep it then give it to GPhC representative
• do not minimise seriousness
• supply correct medicine if appt
• establish their expectations e.g. what do they want out of that
• establish what went wrong - root cause analysis
• provide details to the official body if need
• report complaint
• record, review, learn, take action
• notify pharmacist on duty at time of the error if it wasn’t you
• inform insurance provider

Question 10

How are errors reviewed?

Answer 10

CHAPS
C - conditions in the pharmacy at the time
- health of the pharmacist/team
- Assistance - alone or competence of assistance?
- prescription recovered? legibility, check endorsements
- systems used for dispensing/checking are reviewed
- fill in near miss error log

Question 11

What is an acronym for the final checks?

Answer 11

HELP

• how much dispensed
• Expiry date
• label check
• product check