#MedSafetyWeek2020

We with our colleagues in YCC North West, YCC Scotland, and YCC Wales will be running a mini-series during the week. Do join us by clicking on the links below.

Monday: Introduction to Med Safety Week and the YCCs (Wales)

Tuesday: Virtual quiz on ADRs (West Midlands)

Wednesday: What to report (North West)

Thursday: What happens to your Yellow Card (Scotland)

Friday: Yellow Card Q&A (West Midlands, Wales, North West, Scotland and MHRA)

Active November!

November has been a month of activity here at the Yellow Card Centre West Midlands!

Modern Medicine meets Dangerous Drugs – Study day

The month kicked off with our annual study day; Modern Medicine meets dangerous drugs on 6th November 2018. Over 60 delegates took part in discussions on a range of topics including acute medicines, illicit drugs, pharmacogenomics and deprescribing. Our inclusion of patient experience and the importance of keeping the patient at the centre of care moved everyone. Here’s a snippet of some of the feedback:

 “Excellent speakers and topics – lots to take back to the Trust and MSO”

“Dr Bradberry’s session was most relevant with current issues of street drugs and the increase in their use/availability. Loved the patient story at the end!”

“Very informative about the cannabinoids. empowering patients – brilliant!”

“Very informative and  thought provoking topics” 

“It was very impactful to hear patients story from their side”

 

ISoP 2018

Next the team were off to Geneva, Switzerland to enjoy the sights and present at the 18th Annual Meeting  of the International Society of Pharmacogivilance!

The theme of this year’s conference was Pharmacovigilance without borders. The YCCWM team presented a number of posters on topics from patient involvement in Pharmacovigilance to preventing future deaths from medicines.

Professor Robin E. Ferner and Dr Jeffrey K Aronson chaired a session on Pharmacovigilance of Medical Devices.

ADR Awareness Week 2018

After enjoying the beautiful mountain views, it was back to the office to take part in the international Adverse Drug Reactions Awareness Week. A social media campaign part of an awareness week involving 32 medicines regulators in the EU, Latin America, Australasia and the Middle East! This years’ focus was medicine safety in infants and children, and during pregnancy, including when breastfeeding. The hashtag was #medsafetyweek

Here’s a selection of tweets from the campaign:

“There has been a big growth in patient reporting over the last few years #medsafetyweek #patientsafety #reportsideeffects We can all play a part in ensuring safer use of medicines”

Uppsala Monitoring Centre tweeted:  🇪🇨 Ecuador is just one of four countries helping us raise awareness of in the Spanish-speaking world. These are our other ambassadors in Latin America! 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇸🇻 El Salvador 🇲🇽 Mexico

: If you are a health professional 👨🏼‍⚕️👩🏽‍⚕️, before you give medication 💊, check that you have the right medicine for the right patient

Modern Medicine meets Dangerous Drugs!

Our study day is only days away! We look forward to hosting our delegates at the iconic Birmingham Repertory Theatre on Tuesday 6th November 2018.

Getting to the venue:

By road:

When you are travelling to The REP from outside Birmingham, follow signs for the City Centre and then the International Convention Centre. If you are using an online route planner or satellite navigation, The REP’s postcode is B1 2EP.

Blue Badge Holders:

Parking for Blue Badge holders is available outside Brindley Drive car park (multi-storey at the back of The REP). Parking for Blue Badge holders is also available on Cambridge Street at the rear of the building, but spaces are
extremely limited.

Buses:

The REP is situated in central Birmingham and is easily accessible by bus from most areas. Buses that stop on Broad Street directly outside The REP are: (Broad Street) 1, 9, 10, 10H, 22, 23, 24, 29, 29A, 29S, 120, 126, 127,
128, 129, 139, 140, 141, 821 and 829. For further information about buses call the Network West Midlands Journey Planner hotline on 0871 200 22 33.

Trains:

The REP is within walking distance of Birmingham’s New Street, Snow Hill and Moor Street stations, which are all within one mile of The REP. Train times are available at the National Rail website or traintimes.org.uk.  How you can save money on trains to Birmingham www.railcard.co.uk/cheap-train-tickets-to-birmingham/.

Parking:

Q-Park Brindleyplace car park is conveniently located just a few minutes away and offers safe and secure parking in addition to a range of convenient services including free umbrella hire, shoe shine machine, baby buggy hire, jump starts and more.

By booking your parking space online at q-park.co.uk you can save up to 40% on the daily parking cost and guarantee your space. REP customers can save an extra 10% by using the promo code REP2018 when you book. In addition, for each booking, Q Park will donate a further 10% to REP First, our million pound campaign.

Download the Q-Park Rewards app and scan your parking ticket when you arrive at Q-Park Brindleyplace. The loyalty app gives you free access to a range of local restaurant offers which you can use on the day and every six scans gives you a free parking period! Log on to find out more https://www.q-park.co.uk/q-park-rewards.

NCP Car Park on Brindley Drive off Cambridge Street situated at the back of The REP.  en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/brindley_drive/ 

The following car parks are also close by: Paradise Circus Multi-Storey, NIA, Town Hall Multi-Storey, Tennant Street and Holliday Street.

Main Entrance to the Venue – Please come to the front entrance of the building, then report to Reception – Please go to the UVB Meet & Greet Desk in the Foyer.

Access:

We are committed to making the venue as accessible as possible. Please click on the following link to view the list of services we currently offer for customers with access requirements https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/about-s/access.html

Fire & Evacuation:

The Alarm is voice activated and delegates/guests will be instructed by the Staff on duty to the nearest exit point
and assembly point.

Toilet Facilities:

Situated on the mezzanine & on the ground floor

WIFI:

Depending on your location please log on to REP Guest WIFI or Library of Birmingham WIFI. It will ask for your email and then you will have full complimentary access.

Published!

Preventing Future Deaths from Medicines: Responses to Coroners’ Concerns in England and Wales

Our second paper on Coroners’ reports to prevent future deaths has been published online in the journal Drug Safety.

Last year Drug Safety published part 1, looking at Coroners’ Concerns.
We pointed out that ‘Health organisations, professional and regulatory bodies and market authorisation holders could derive wider pharmacovigilance benefits from greater awareness of coroners’ reports.’

This second paper looked at responses to Regulation 28 letters  to prevent future death (PFDs). Our key points were:

  • Coroners raise important concerns in attempts to prevent future deaths.
  • The concerns are often directed locally, even if the responses are relevant more widely.
  • Public access to the responses is often limited.

You can read the full paper here.

See it. Suspect it. Report it! European Union-wide ADR Awareness Week

Did you know that adverse drug reactions (or side effects) are a leading cause of hospitalization? Any adverse drug reactions you see, or experience, can be reported to the Yellow Card Scheme. Every report adds to the knowledge we have about medicine safety, and help make medicines safer for other patients too.

Anyone can report to the Yellow Card Scheme via the website, app, or a printed Yellow Card form.
We can all play a part in patient safety.

Find out more about the Yellow Card Scheme here.