The Ministry of Health and Social Development is asking the community to do their part to help promote medicine safety by reporting adverse drug reactions.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a medical professional, patient or  pharmacist, everyone can do their part to make medicines safer by reporting side effects,” Chief of Drugs and Pharmaceutical Services, Mrs. Gracia Wheatley-Smith said.

Through the #MedSafetyWeek campaign, 85 countries, 52 languages and 97 organisations will work together to improve safety of medicines globally.

“As part of the campaign we, along with the other participating countries, are on a quest to raise awareness about the importance of reporting adverse medicine reactions through social media platforms. With the constant collection and monitoring of these adverse reactions, we can identify risks associated with medicines and take action to minimise harm,” Mrs. Wheatley-Smith said.

“Every report is important in building more knowledge and understanding of the benefits and risks of medicines in clinical use. Reporting allows action to be taken to minimise risks, which collectively leads to positive benefits to users, better prescribing advice and improved patient outcomes,” the Chief of Drugs explained.

Persons are encouraged to report adverse drug reactions to their health professional, pharmacist or by contacting the Office of the Chief of Drugs and Pharmaceutical Services via email at grwheatley-smith@gov.vg or via telephone at 284-468-9850.

#MedSafetyWeek is being observed November 6-12 under the theme ‘Who can Report’. Dynamic informative videos in Spanish and English will be shared as part of the mini campaign. The community is encouraged to join the campaign by sharing the videos with family members, friends and co-workers via your social media platform along with the hashtag #MedSafetyWeek.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development is committed to ensuring that all aspects of the environment with the potential to negatively impact the health of the population are managed efficiently to enable all persons in the BVI to attain and maintain optimal health and well-being.