New mechanism to report safety concerns with healthcare products in Northern Ireland
A new regional centre that promotes the reporting of suspected safety concerns associated with healthcare products has been launched in Northern Ireland.
The Yellow Card centre for Northern Ireland will bring together a dedicated team to increase awareness, educate, and promote reporting of suspected adverse events to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Yellow Card scheme.
The Yellow Card scheme provides a mechanism for patients, caregivers, and healthcare staff to report suspected safety concerns associated with healthcare products. This could be a suspected side effect to a medicine; an adverse medical device incident; or suspected safety concerns involving defective, falsified, or fake healthcare products.
Northern Ireland Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Professor Cathy Harrison said: “Collecting and monitoring information on possible adverse effects of medications and healthcare products is vital to ensuring patient safety.
“It is fitting that the launch of the Yellow Card centre for Northern Ireland coincides with World Patient Safety Day on 17 September, with this year’s theme of ‘Engaging patients for patient safety’.
“The Yellow Card scheme puts the patient voice at its heart. By voluntarily reporting issues, patients, families and care givers can play a crucial role in their own care, and the safety of healthcare as a whole. I welcome the launch of the new regional centre and would encourage anyone who has suspected safety concerns to report them.”
The Yellow Card Centre Northern Ireland will be based at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.
Paula King, Regional Lead Pharmacist Yellow Card centre and Medicines and Poisons Advice Service, added: “The Yellow Card centre aims to improve awareness and education about the MHRA Yellow Card scheme to enable and empower our patients, health professionals, and local partners across Northern Ireland to Yellow Card report for medicines and healthcare products.”
The Yellow Card centre Northern Ireland is the sixth regional centre commissioned by the MHRA.
The Innovative Devices Access Pathway (IDAP) pilot was recently launched, supported by £10 million UK Government funding, which is designed to support the rapid development of innovative technologies that can be introduced into the NHS to address unmet clinical needs for patients and healthcare professionals at the earliest opportunity.