Innovative, Accredited Training and Services helps care providers exceed regulatory standards

All Opus Pharmacy Services’ courses and services for the care sector and schools are now fully accredited.

Opus Pharmacy Services, provider of medicines handling training has been recognised by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) for its innovative approach to training. All Opus courses and services, which include face to face, e-learning and distance learning options as well as audits and policies, now carry RPS Accreditation.

“By being accredited as a Royal Pharmaceutical Society training provider, Opus Pharmacy Services has demonstrated that it meets our recognised quality standards and provides the benchmark for the healthcare teams it supports. We know that Opus strives for excellence in the services it provides, being both forward-thinking and innovative in its approach to education and training. We commend Opus for its dedication to the development of medication training and to supporting the learning needs of the wider healthcare sector,” commented Dr Catherine Duggan, PhD FRPharmS, Director of Professional Development and Support at The Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

With stories hitting the headlines almost daily of medicines errors and incidents, Opus has introduced a new, pragmatic and time saving approach to policies and procedures. With its Pharmacist trainers having over 100 years’ experience between them, Opus noticed that policies were becoming increasingly long and complicated with staff struggling to find the advice and guidance they needed.

To combat these issues, Opus has developed a unique 3 stage approach to policies comprising:

  1. A short, succinct policy setting out the main principles of the care establishment and responsibilities of all medicines handlers
  2. A set of concise, visual procedures with flow charts and other visual aids to allow staff to easily find the procedure they need and follow it exactly to ensure all medicines are administered safely
  3. A supporting document with additional reference information on all elements of the policy and procedures for staff to refer to when need which also acts as a helpful training tool for staff.
    Opus is committed to helping care providers reduce their medicines errors and provide a safe care environment with peace of mind for everyone; be it the staff administering the medicines, the people receiving the care or their families and loved ones.

Through a combination of Opus’ engaging and comprehensive training, the development of an easy to read Opus policy with visually appealing procedures and the unique added benefit of Opus’ ongoing Pharmacist support helpline, care settings and schools can feel reassured that their staff know what to do in any situation.

Social care employers are required by law to ensure their teams are ‘suitability qualified, competent, skilled and experienced’ and that they receive ‘appropriate support, training, professional development… to enable them to carry out the duties they are employed to perform’ (Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014).

Opus seek to provide organisations with what they NEED rather than following historic, burdensome norms. For example, in light of the recent lack of registered nurses in nursing homes, Opus has swiftly responded to demand to train senior carers to administer medicines. Opus’ responsive approach allows care providers to effectively handle changes to their workforce as well as meet all regulatory and legislative requirements.

Opus believes that taking a pragmatic approach to training will save time, money and ultimately reduce errors in care organisations and schools. A trained and confident workforce is a safe workforce.

Opus has trained over 84,000 staff to handle medicines and Opus understands the challenges organisations face “With both financial and regulatory pressures, we hope our accreditation will give care providers the reassurance that our training will help them not only meet and exceed the required CQC/ Ofsted standards but provide all staff with relevant, comprehensive and practical training and materials that will see them into the future, retain their competence but also provide them with the confidence and support they need to provide the best care to the people they support ,” said Judith Manners, Director of Opus Pharmacy Services.