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Pharmacists at the heart of patient safety, says RPS

RPS in England has welcomed the publication The NHS Patient Safety Strategy, which sets out what the NHS in England will do to achieve its vision to improve patient safety.

Chair of RPS in England, Claire Anderson, said:

“We welcome the ambitions of the new NHS Patient Safety Strategy and the recognition that reducing medication harm in the NHS is central to better outcomes for patients. As experts in medicines, pharmacists will be at the heart of this work, including supporting shared decision-making with patients, medicines reviews, and reducing problematic polypharmacy.

“The NHS Long-Term Plan recognises the vital role that pharmacists play in supporting the use of medicines. Local delivery plans must now ensure that pharmacists are embedded across the health service, supported by a strategic approach to education, training and recruitment. In this way patients and NHS colleagues can benefit from pharmacists’ expertise in all care settings.

“Patient safety is supported by encouraging a culture where people can report errors and learn from honest mistakes. After a long-running conversation through the Rebalancing Board, last year we welcomed the introduction of a new criminal defence around inadvertent dispensing errors in registered pharmacies. We now look to the Government to urgently move forwards and provide a similar defence for pharmacists working in hospitals and other settings.”

Our Annual Conference this year will be taking place on Sunday 17 November and will be focusing on Medicines Safety. Booking opens soon - keep an eye out!

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