Event

Celebrating 10 years of advancing patient safety: Community Pharmacy Patient Safety Group marks milestone anniversary

This year, the Community Pharmacy Patient Safety Group (CPPSG) celebrates its 10-year anniversary, marking a decade of dedication to improving patient safety through collaboration, education, and innovation in pharmacy practice.

Since its inception in 2015, the CPPSG has become a vital resource for pharmacy professionals, enhancing the safety and wellbeing of patients. The Group is marking the anniversary with a variety of events and activities showcasing the sector’s continued progress on patient safety.

A decade of progress

Over the last ten years, the CPPSG has made significant strides in advancing patient safety. By developing and implementing best practice and educational resources, the Group has helped reduce medication errors and near-incidents, further embedding a culture of safety within community pharmacies.

The CPPSG has sought to improve patient safety in several ways since its formation, including:

  • The production of the Focus on Fentanyl training video for pharmacy staff.
  • The development and publication of well-established ‘look-alike-sound-alike’ resources.
  • The publication of a series of “share and learns” following patient safety incidents aimed at supporting improvements in practice.
  • Ongoing collaboration with external colleagues on safe labelling of liquid medicines.
  • The development of a sodium valproate risk assessment and guidance.
  • The use of data to support the Department of Health and Social Care with their work.
  • The development of a suite of resources to support engagement with pharmacy schools.

Jackie Giltrow, Chair of the CPPSG, said: “Members of the group act as a team, and routinely pool resources to try and resolve patient safety issues and identify trends that arise.  The collective expertise and camaraderie of the group means that we can tackle problems as a co-operative rather than as competitors, meaning that we are far more effective together than as individuals.”

Henrietta Hughes, Patient Safety Commissioner, England, said “I am pleased to support the Community Pharmacy Patient Safety Group in its 10th anniversary year. Community pharmacists play a crucial role in promoting patient safety as patients often rely on them for advice.  I look forward to continuing to work together to improve patient safety.”

Janice Perkins, Inaugural Chair of the CPPSG, said: “The opportunity to collaborate with like-minded professionals across a diverse range of pharmacy competitors as well as with NHS colleagues, the GPhC [General Pharmaceutical Council] and the RPS [Royal Pharmaceutical Society] has enabled the group to achieve a unique quality of thinking and insight that has added value to patients, the public, and to pharmacists and their teams.

The resources produced and the challenges explored have moved the community pharmacy sector forward in within patient safety and quality improvement.”

External bodies, such as the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, DHSC, NHS England, and Specialist Pharmacy Services, regularly seek the thoughts and feedback from the Group, knowing that by accessing the CPPSG they are effectively accessing the views of the entire sector. 

The CPPSG is recognising its 10 year anniversary throughout 2025. Keep an eye on its website and social media to learn more.

NOTES TO EDITORS

  • The CPPSG was first established in 2015 following an NHS Alert which recommended community pharmacy businesses to identify a Medication Safety Officer (MSO). MSOs took this requirement further and meet regularly to share and learn from patient safety incidents and drive improvements in patient care across community pharmacy and more widely. View the original 2014 NHS Alert and supporting information.
  • The CPPSG provides a forum for large community pharmacy organisations (defined as 50 or more pharmacies in the MHRA alert), competitors in a commercial sense, to openly share and learn from each other when things go wrong, as well as from other sectors and industries. It is made up of the largest community pharmacy businesses, as well as organisations representing independent pharmacies and small multiples. The Group works together to consider how learning from patient safety incidents can be applied across the pharmacy network and wider NHS, and then create the opportunities and resources to do just that. The CPPSG has become a source of expertise for external bodies as no similar forum exists within community pharmacy.

  • As part of its work, the group engages with a wide array of stakeholders including the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England (NHSE), the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS).
  • The Group also feeds into the Community Pharmacy England (CPE) discussions on the Pharmacy Quality Scheme, have helped make patient safety alerts clearer, supported the process of handling defective medicines, as well as inputting into the development of the national incident reporting system.
  • The Group was wholly sponsored by the NPA in 2024 and is now securing sponsorship for 2025 and future years through a co-sponsorship model.