As an organisation of healthcare professionals, we take our responsibility towards patients and their families extremely seriously and provide information and support where it is appropriate to do so. In doing so we learn more about the patient’s perspective and where possible we seek to share that insight with our membership, in the hope it improves us all. We believe that considering such personal accounts with an open mind can help pharmacists and the wider pharmacy sector to better deal with similar situations in the future and understand how patients and family members view our processes, behaviours and interactions with them.
In this instance, we were contacted by the husband of a patient who sadly passed away following a dispensing error and he described his experience of trying to find answers about what had happened and get closure at a very difficult time. The PDA was not involved in this case.
The PDA has agreed to share this account with members to help pharmacists and pharmacy organisations reflect upon the wider and long-lasting impact that an error, and how it is dealt with, can have on families. Details have been anonymised and the PDA neither agrees nor disagrees with any of the author’s criticisms.
PDA team members who interact with patients and the public are using this moving story to inform and shape our own future practice.
Download the account here
