Society issues guidance on the role of pharmacists and technicians
in protecting vulnerable patients
Two new pieces of guidance, “Child protection” and “Protection of vulnerable adults”, have been published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to help pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians recognise and act on instances where they believe patients may be victims of abuse.
The guidance documents appear in this week’s Pharmaceutical
Journal as a four-page centre pull-out (pp175-178 PDF (80K)).
They can also be downloaded from the practice
section of the Society’s
website.
The Society says that, because they come into contact with children and
vulnerable adults in their everyday work, pharmacists and technicians
may become aware of situations where a child or vulnerable adult is being
abused or is at risk of abuse. In the case of children, this abuse could
take the form of physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect.
In vulnerable adults, the abuse can take wider forms, including financial
and domestic abuse as well as all of the above. Vulnerable adults are
defined as those in need of community care services because of mental
health, disability, age or illness and who are unable to protect themselves
from harm or exploitation.
The guidance says that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians should be
alert to indications of possible abuse or neglect and should know how
to access local policies for protecting children or vulnerable adults.
Lynsey Balmer, the Society’s head of professional ethics, says: “It
is important that pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians are
alert to potential indicators of abuse or neglect and that they are empowered
to take appropriate action if abuse or neglect is suspected. This new
guidance will therefore help pharmacies identify potential indicators
of abuse, advise what to do if abuse or neglect is suspected and raise
awareness of the types of local policies and procedures that should be
in place for dealing with it.”
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal