Clinical assessment service to extend function to poorly performing
NHS pharmacists
The National Clinical Assessment
Service, which currently provides advice and support for the NHS for dealing with poorly performing doctors and dentists, is to extend its function to include pharmacists in England from April 2009.
The NCAS aims to “bridge the governance gap” that can occur
when an issue is not resolved by local management interventions, but
may not be serious enough to warrant referral to the profession’s
regulator. Referrals for poor performance are usually received from the
employer, although some practitioners choose to self-refer.
In addition to clinical capability, the NCAS assesses the health and
behaviour of the professional in question, as well as his or her working
conditions. Plans for improving performance specify recommendations,
which may be targeted at the employer or the professional. The NCAS has
no regulatory power, so it can only make recommendations.
Ray Fitzpatrick, chairman of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Hospital
Pharmacists Group, commented: “Where there are issues of performance
management, an independent opinion will be beneficial to both the employer
and the individual concerned.
“However, the service will need to be applied consistently, and
capability management policies in hospitals will need to be modified.”
The Department of Health has agreed to fund the extension of the NCAS’s
remit to include pharmacists, which is expected to cost around £870,000
per year.
Heidi Wright, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s head of practice,
said the service had the potential to provide a structured and supported
approach to overcoming performance concerns.
“We are pleased that NCAS will be extending its services in this
way,” she
said.
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