Patient Safety:  Integrate Clinical Pharmacists into High-Risk Units, CPAN Urges FG

The Clinical Pharmacists Association of Nigeria (CPAN) has called on the Federal Government to urgently integrate clinical pharmacists into core patient-care teams across Nigeria’s healthcare system to enhance patient safety and prevent medication-related harm.

CPAN has also called for the development of robust national protocols for high-alert medications, revision of hospital accreditation standards to include clinical pharmacy services, promotion of interprofessional education, and the institutionalisation of funded clinical pharmacy roles across all tiers of healthcare.

The clinicians made the call in a strongly worded statement, jointly signed by the Chairman Dr Maureen Nwafor, and Secretary, Dr Abdumuminu Isah, addressed to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammed Ali Pate, following the tragic death of a child, an incident the association described as a national tragedy that exposes deeper systemic weaknesses in medication-use processes, particularly in high-risk areas such as paediatric anaesthesia and critical care.

Expressing condolences to the bereaved family, Dr Nwafor said the loss of any child is a profound failure of the collective duty of the health system to protect the most vulnerable, adding that families have an absolute right to clarity and transparency in such circumstances.

While stressing that an independent investigation is necessary to establish the specific facts of the case, she noted that the incident should serve as a wake-up call for comprehensive healthcare reforms aimed at strengthening patient safety safeguards nationwide.

The clinician emphasised that global best practices consistently show that patient safety, especially for children and critically ill patients, is optimised through structured multidisciplinary care involving doctors, nurses, and clinical pharmacists.

According to her, high-alert medicines such as sedatives and anaesthetic agents carry significant risks that require robust checks and balances, which are best achieved through collaborative oversight rather than isolated professional practice.

Citing international evidence, the  CPAN chairman noted that studies have shown that integrating clinical pharmacists into anaesthesiology and critical care departments significantly improves medication safety, optimises antibiotic use, and delivers measurable cost savings to health systems.

She added that systematic reviews of perioperative and critical care settings globally have demonstrated that clinical pharmacists play a crucial role in resolving drug-related problems, improving adherence to treatment guidelines, and enhancing patient outcomes.

Nwafor stressed that the benefits of clinical pharmacy services are not limited to foreign settings, pointing to a recent Nigerian study from a tertiary hospital in the South-South region where pharmacist interventions were pivotal in identifying and resolving drug therapy problems in the intensive care unit.

Beyond safety and clinical outcomes, the clinical pharmacist highlighted growing patient acceptance of expanded clinical pharmacy services in Nigeria, noting that several studies show patients are willing to pay for specialised pharmacist-led care due to its perceived value in improving health outcomes.

She further noted that pharmacist-led services, including telehealth and home telemonitoring models, offer scalable solutions for extending pharmaceutical expertise to underserved and remote populations across the country.

In her recommendations, the CPAN leader urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to mandate the integration of clinical pharmacists into all high-risk clinical areas, including paediatrics, anaesthesia, intensive care, oncology, and emergency medicine, in both public and private hospital.

She  concluded that honouring the memory of children lost to preventable harm requires decisive action rather than sympathy alone, stressing that clinical pharmacists are essential allies in safe healing and reaffirming its readiness to partner with government and stakeholders to build a safer, more accountable Nigerian healthcare system.