The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain's Council is pressing the government for an
urgent change in legislation to decriminalise dispensing errors.
Under the Medicines Act 1968, pharmacists automatically commit a criminal offence each time
they make a dispensing error or a labelling error - and the Council has set out to champion the
case to change the law.
Experts on medical safety all agree that a disproportionate response to human errors makes
systems less safe, as accidents become hidden and driven underground, so no one learns
where the system is unsafe, so it cannot be made safer for others.
The Society is currently surveying pharmacists on its register to explore their views on
recording dispensing errors in a dispensing error log. The early results show the recent court
case where a pharmacist received a suspended sentence for a dispensing error has made
pharmacists reluctant to record dispensing errors. The survey showed 42.8 per cent of
pharmacists are now seriously concerned about recording dispensing errors. Pharmacists are
torn between doing the right thing - recording and learning from mistakes - and the risk of
incriminating themselves by making a record of a potential criminal offence.
Last week the Society threw its weight behind an online petition, started by grassroots
pharmacists, calling for decriminalisation of dispensing errors. A message was sent to all
members of the Society, urging them to sign the petition. The petition already has over 10,000
signatures from pharmacists and members of the public.
President Steve Churton said: "The law as it currently stands is outdated, manifestly unjust and
disproportionate. It discourages pharmacists from reporting errors and this plainly does not
serve the public interest."
Society lay Council member, Alan Kershaw said: "I am not a pharmacist but as a member of
the public, I would expect the profession to be governed by the same principles as those that
apply to other healthcare professionals. Anyone can make an error, especially when under
pressure, and the consequences for a patient can be tragic. But for a pharmacist to
automatically face the prospect of the police on their doorstep, for a single error, is simply not
the best way to secure standards. It must discourage pharmacists from reporting and learning
from such errors. This cannot be in the public interest".
Notes
The online petition can be viewed here.
1. The Society is an enforcement authority under the Medicines Act 1968 ('the Act') and it also
has regulatory policies in place regarding dispensing errors. However, other organizations
such as the police and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
also enforce certain provisions in the Act. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who
prosecute on behalf of the behalf of the police, may institute criminal proceedings for serious
criminal breaches, for example, gross negligence manslaughter. There are therefore instances
where police/CPS involvement is wholly appropriate.
2. The MHRA is currently undertaking a project to consolidate and review the legislation. The
RPSGB has submitted a concept paper to the MHRA as part of their review project, available
on the website: rpsgb/pdfs/consdoc1754.pdf.
In this submission, the RPSGB has urged the MHRA to specifically review section 64 of the
Medicines Act 1968 with a view to exclude dispensing errors made by pharmacists.
Source
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain