Safety recommendation
HSIB recommends that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) reviews whether a provider’s assurance of its compliance with the Clinical Risk Management standard specific to electronic prescribing and medicines administration systems in healthcare, can form part of the CQC’s developing regulatory model.
Response:
This report highlights important risks to patient safety as a result of errors when using electronic prescribing and medicines administration systems.
While the responsibility for the safe use of these systems lies with individual Trusts, we welcome the opportunity to consider what role we can play in ensuring the safe use of these electronic prescribing systems by providers through our regulatory approach. We’re currently developing a new regulatory model in order to adapt to changes in health and care and we’re committed to exploring how this recommendation could be incorporated to support improvements in safety for patients.
However, whilst we can explore how we can give a degree of assurance around the safe use of these systems through our regulation, the root cause of the issues outlined in this report lies at the design and licensing stage. This is outside of our regulation as the independent regulator of health and care services in England.
Actions planned to deliver safety recommendation:
- To consider, in developing the evidence requirements for NHS Trusts, whether evidence about assurance against the Clinical Risk Management standard can be included at either Trust or service level, by Summer 2022.
- Depending on the outcome of the first action, ensure that guidance and best practice related to the implementation of the Clinical Risk Management Standard is included in guidance, by Autumn 2022.
Response received on 28 April 2022.