Number Of Pharmacy Complaints Decrease By Almost 50%

The number of complaints received about pharmacists or pharmacies decreased almost 50% last year, according to the pharmacy regulator.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland's (PSI) Annual Report 2015 reported a total of 27 formal complaints received, compared to 51 complaints in 2014. As in previous years, the majority of the complaints were from patients, with dispensing errors the most common category of complaint, followed by behaviour or professionalism issues. As well as receiving official complaints, the report also outlines that 90 expressions of concern were raised with the regulator, a 19% decrease on 2014.

PSI President Dr Ann Frankish said: "This year marked the mid-point of the PSI Corporate Strategy 2013-2017 and as a Council we are on track to meet the main objectives set out for the five years.

"We continue to recognise a changing healthcare environment and changing patient expectations through projects such as the Patient Charter and the Future Pharmacy Practice project, which is looking at how pharmacy can contribute and support the wider health service in responding to challenges, in the interests of patients.

"We are very aware, as a regulator, that we must be proportionate in our regulation, whilst also evolving our regulatory practices and approaches so that we are always in a position to address new risks and thereby protect patients.

"In this regard, we have been examining the PSI's inspection model, and we are shortly introducing a new Pharmacy Assessment System, which will be a self-audit resource for community pharmacies and which will play a key role in building a risk-based model of inspection."

(CD/JP)