April 24th 2024

By Ailsa Colquhoun

New guidance: Responding to Patient Safety Incidents 

New Patient Safety Professional Standards: Responding to Patient Safety Incidents aim to support dispensary teams to deliver best practice in patient safety incidents. Developed by pharmacy leaders including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the standards are not mandatory, even for pharmacists, but describe quality pharmacy services or what ‘good’ looks like

Key changes include the following:

• There are now seven standards (previously six) setting the outcome and expectation for clarity and consistency of terminology
• New – ‘reflect’ and ‘evaluate'
• Updated – ‘be open and honest’ and ‘record and report’
• Merged – ‘share’ and ‘learn’.
• Seven new and updated descriptor outcomes – to provide more details and support attainment of the standard by describing what should be actively and routinely demonstrated and why

To support the launch of the standards, the RPS is hosting a patient safety standards webinar to provide more information about what is new with the standards, who they’re for and how to use them. Register online for event on Thursday 9 May 2024, 7-8 pm.