The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 277 No 7412 p160
5 August 2006

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· The profession (6)
· Safety
· Code of Ethics
· Homoeopathy

Letters to the Editor

Safety

Tabloid journalism

From Mr M. Shucksmith, MRPharmS

The emotive language used in the PJ (29 July, p122), ie, “the health service kills the equivalent of three jumbo jets full of people every week through errors of one sort or another”, implies that we are all out to do harm.

Not only could it have been better expressed, but a more balanced observation could have been made, with details as to where the bulk of these errors occur.

This kind of comment in a professional journal will give any budding tabloid journalist the opportunity to make a name for himself with copy such as “pharmacists admit to killing hundreds of patients” or “the killing fields of the chemists shop”.

My impression is that pharmacy’s (particularly community pharmacy) contribution to these statistics is small.

Mike Shucksmith
Fordingbridge, Hampshire

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