Pharmacists, particularly those who primarily work in the hospital sector have been involved in NHS Accident and Emergency department work for many years. Typically, this work was generally medicines related and as such was always and continues to be covered under the standard level of indemnity cover provided by dint of PDA membership. However, in more recent times due to acute staff shortages and high volumes of incoming patients, a new range of healthcare professionals are now expected to get involved much more directly in patient facing roles in A&E departments and this includes pharmacists. Some of this activity will involve diagnosing, triaging and even treating patients in patient facing situations.
Since this kind of activity has not been a core role for pharmacists, nor has it formed a significant component of the core training that pharmacists have received, it is deemed by underwriters to be a relatively high risk activity. However, subject to meeting the competency requirements through additional training (as described via the Boundaries of Clinical Practice Statement – BCPS) and if working with protocols in place and within an NHS A&E department where access to other members of the healthcare team is available, underwriters have agreed to provide indemnity cover for pharmacists involved in helping to treat patients who attend the A&E department of an NHS hospital.
This extension provides indemnity cover for non-medicines related clinical work in the A&E departments. The indemnity limit is £1 million
Conditions
Diagnosing, triaging and even treating incoming patients in Accident and Emergency Departments exposes pharmacists to a much greater risk of litigation and this is why a number of conditions to the cover provided have been attached.
- Pharmacists must ensure and must be able to demonstrate that they are competent to undertake the tasks that they perform. Evidence will be requested for sight of relevant training.
- Pharmacists must have established either a senior clinical practitioner with the required competence and/or a professional peer group to act as a reference point to assist in the event that they need support in any of their non-medicines related clinical activities in the A&E department.
- Protocols must be in place and must be observed to include;
- A significant event monitoring process
- A service review process which reviews pharmacist performance in the area of (non-medicines related) A&E work