Error Reporting And Duty Of Candour

According to data published in August by the Health & Social Care Information Centre, although the NHS received 60,000 written complaints last year about GPs and dentists, the number of complaints against pharmacists was insignificant. However, there must have been more patient safety incidents than pharmacies are reporting to the National Patient Safety Agency.

The NHS terms of service have for a long time required the reporting of all patient safety incidents. But pharmacies have reported on average fewer than one per pharmacy. If we assume that each pharmacy encountered more than one error a year, it follows that errors are being under reported even, though pharmacies have until now been free to report incidents anonymously to avoid the risk of prosecution or fitness to practise proceedings.

As part of the new NHS funding deal announced recently by the PSNC, pharmacies reporting incidents will in future have to identify themselves. However, they will only have to report incidents that did or could have led to patient harm. Near misses, such as picking errors that are identified and corrected during checking procedures need not be reported.

The NHS believes improving error reporting will show patient safety is at the heart of pharmacists' work, but the right of anonymity will be removed "to allow easier shared learning". I do not see how taking away the right to report errors anonymously will...