Petition to decriminalise dispensing errors

[Titch]

Decriminalisation of dispensing errors Petition

Please sign if you agree

Background (Preamble):
Millions of prescriptions are dispensed each year and only a very small percentage result in an error. However because of the sheer volume of prescriptions given out daily, each and every pharmacist is involved in a number of error incidents throughout the length of his or her career.

Recently a pharmacist (who has subsequently resigned from practice) was given a three month suspended prison sentence for making a dispensing error. A charge of manslaughter failed because the error was judged to have played no part in the death of the patient. When pharmacists make errors they are encouraged to report them so that systems can be reviewed and improved for the benefit of future patients. This case makes it less likely that errors will be reported.

A custodial sentence is supposed to be handed down to protect the public. This sentence is likely to achieve the complete opposite. If every pharmacist who has ever made a mistake were to be criminalised in this way then there would soon be very few left to practice. This law needs to be changed and soon.


Petition:
We the undersigned call on the Department of Health to ensure that the law relating to the dispensing of medication errors is changed as soon as possible such that one-off, non-deliberate errors are no longer considered to be criminal offences.

[Rafael]

a special request to Elaine, could you please paste the content of the petition and e-mail it, with the link, to everyone?
together we can make a change, gravy would not mind if you do so as i read he gave a go for someone to start a facebook group, and advertise for the petition by any means.
regards

signer # 26

[Rafael]

Baino please add the facebook link, can recruite 500 by tom! and i am sure everyone can recruite at least 50.

[Tony Schofield]

This petition is to be prsented to HMG. It would be better if people contributed in their own names and not nicknames from chat sites.

Also if comments, on the petition itself, could be restricted to the issue itself.....? not how to recruit more signatories?

We want a true, authentic account of who is upset enough to want to sign. I have several businesses and several e-mail addresses so in principle could post several times with different names. This, if realised, would undermine the petition.

[johnep]

Petition run through gopetition site. While you are there see the near 30,000 signatures re the nurse struck off for an exposure of a hospital.
johnep

[Rafael]

will sign it again using my uni e-mail and my real name
it would have been better if the petition was started on 10 downing site.

[Scamp]

I have just signed and emailed the link to all my pharmacist friends.

I have to agree with TS that having comments within the petition about how to recruit more signatories does not add to petition's integrity!

[johnep]

Yes destroys impact and smacks of vested interests.
johnep

[ramroum]

Could somebody create a new petition please on the necessity for pharmacies to close one hour (lunch time) with no dispensing or other activities being undertaken so no piling trays need to be checked when pharmacists come back from their lunch breaks.
(Sorry I can't start a petition myself as my written English is not good enough.)

[admin]

a special request to Elaine, could you please paste the content of the petition and e-mail it, with the link, to everyone?
together we can make a change, gravy would not mind if you do so as i read he gave a go for someone to start a facebook group, and advertise for the petition by any means.
regards

signer # 26

I have no problem bringing this to people's attention, but we once sent something for the English pharmacy board to encourage people to vote and I got loads of complaints!

If anyone wants a go at writing a good (neutral) e-mail then send it to me via PM and I'll try to do it tonight or tomorrow.