Safeguarding - when delivering medications you are more likely than any other member of the pharmacy team to come across vulnerable people as you will see customers in their own environment. As a member of the pharmacy team you have a professional, legal, moral and ethical duty to protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse whether physical, emotional, sexual, financial or in the form of neglect.

There will be a child and vulnerable adult protection policy in your pharmacy. It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with the type of things to look out for which could be potential signs of abuse.

If you suspect abuse or a safeguarding issue DO NOT DO NOTHING and think that it is none of your business, or that someone else will deal with it. If there is a possibility that an individual is seriously at risk of harm, make a record of what you have noticed, speak to your pharmacist and follow the reporting procedures detailed in your policy.

Refer to the Counter Excellence module 'Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults' for further information.

Whistleblowing - is simply explained as a situation where an individual raises a concern about a risk, malpractice or wrongdoing that may affect customers, the general public or colleagues.

This may include:

• inappropriate storage of medicines, such as refrigerated items or controlled drugs.
• inadequate staffing levels to deliver a safe service.

Sometimes an employee of a pharmacy may feel scared to raise their concerns as they think it would put their job at risk; however the Public Interest Disclosures Act (PIDA) 1998 enables workers to speak out responsibly without fear of retribution.

Do:

• Understand the need to speak up – it is always better to raise concerns even if they are not correct than not say anything at all.
• Read your own pharmacy whistleblowing policy.
• Stick to the facts and only report what you have witnessed and do not make any allegations or exaggerate as this may potentially detract from the concern.

Don’t:

• Attempt to gather evidence yourself – this should be done formally otherwise you run the risk of disciplinary action if you are taking copies of anything, for example files, emails etc.
• Confuse concerns with personal grievances – a grievance is personal to an individual, whistleblowing issues are those that have an impact on other people including customers and members of the public.
• Blow the whistle anonymously as this will make the investigation much harder to complete.

Refer to the Counter Excellence module 'Whistleblowing' for more information.