Drug Safety Update

#MedSafetyWeek (2 to 8 November 2026): Don't ignore suspected side effects, report them! Updates to the Yellow Card website and app

Issued 26 Oct 2026

Read and act on the official notice on GOV.UK

In plain English, for the pharmacy team

Why is this relevant to community pharmacy

This Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) notice is about the Yellow Card scheme, which is used to report suspected side effects and medical device incidents. It affects all medicines, vaccines, blood products, medical devices and e-cigarettes, so it matters to every part of the pharmacy team. Community pharmacies may be the first place patients raise side effects or device problems, and staff can help spot and report them.

What to tell patients

Use your professional judgement for each patient.

  • If you think a medicine or medical device has caused a side effect or problem, report it through the Yellow Card scheme.
  • You can report online using the Yellow Card website or the Yellow Card app.

What needs to be done

  • Use the Yellow Card website materials, posters, digital screens, waiting room materials and social media assets to raise awareness of reporting.
  • Signpost patients to the Yellow Card website or Yellow Card app when talking about suspected side effects or device incidents.
  • Pharmacists: if you suspect a side effect or safety concern, report it through the Yellow Card scheme; only a suspicion is needed.
  • Pharmacists: respond to any follow-up requests from the MHRA for extra information.
  • If your pharmacy uses social media, share campaign content using the MHRA hashtags listed in the notice.
  • Use the Yellow Card e-learning modules, including the free BPSA assessment, to support staff awareness.
  • Read and act on the official GOV.UK notice.

Pharmshark summary, checked and approved by Chris Dotchin on 1 Nov 2026. It is not the official notice: always read and act on the GOV.UK notice.

How this summary was written

An AI tool drafted it from the MHRA's own notice and nothing else. A second check compared every line with the notice. Pharmshark's clinical lead then read it against the notice, edited it where needed and approved it. If the MHRA changes the notice, this summary is taken down until it has been checked again.

The MHRA's summary

The annual #MedSafetyWeek campaign is taking place from 2 to 8 November 2026 to promote the importance of reporting side effects from medicines and medical device incidents. This year's theme is ‘Side effects: don't ignore them, report them!’

MHRA's audience tags: All specialties

Pharmshark is not an official alerting route. Make sure your pharmacy receives alerts directly from the MHRA and through your organisation, and always act on the official GOV.UK notice.

Source: the MHRA on GOV.UK. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Pharmshark is not affiliated with or endorsed by the MHRA.