Primary and Community Care Directorate
Pharmacy Division
T: 0131-244 2518 F: 0131-244 2375
E: bill.scott@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
12 February 2010
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1. Medical Directors
2. Directors of Public Health
2. Directors of Pharmacy
3. NHS 24
URGENT – PROBLEMS WITH POSTAL DELIVERY OF YELLOW CARDS TO THE MHRA
Please see for onward transmission the attached letter from the MHRA advising of a problem
that has been identified with the Yellow Card postal delivery service. Some Yellow Cards
have been returned to sender due to an error at Royal Mail. Further information and
instructions about re-submitting reports are contained in the attached letter.
1. Please could Medical Directors in NHS Boards forward the message to :• All general practitioners – please ensure this message is seen by all practice
nurses and non-principals working in your practice and retain a copy in your locum
information pack.
• Deputising Services
• Accident & emergency Departments
● Chief Executives NHS Boards
3. Please could Directors of Pharmacy forward the message to :•
•
•
Community Pharmacists
Hospital Pharmacists
Medicines Information Pharmacists
Thank you for your co-operation.
Yours sincerely
BILL SCOTT
Chief Pharmaceutical Officer
St Andrew’s House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG
www.scotland.gov.uk
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Direct Healthcare Professional Communication on problems with postal delivery of
Yellow Cards to the MHRA
Dear Healthcare Professional,
We have identified a problem with the Yellow Card postal delivery service. Some
Yellow Cards have been returned to sender due to an error at Royal Mail.
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If you or one of your patients have posted a Yellow Card report to us
and have either had it returned or not received an acknowledgement
letter, we kindly ask you to resend the report. This can be done by
sending a new Yellow Card report or reporting online at
www.yellowcard.gov.uk
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The issue with Royal Mail has now been rectified, and online reporting
is unaffected.
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We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your effort in
reporting to the Yellow Card Scheme.
Further information
Any undelivered mail that has been returned to sender is processed through a specialist highsecurity Royal Mail centre. As a result of steps taken to resolve the problem, Yellow Cards
received by this centre are being routed to the MHRA. However, if a return address could not be
found, the report will have been destroyed securely. We therefore request that if you or one of
your patients have posted a report and have either had it returned or not received an
acknowledgement that you resend it as soon as possible. Our system can detect any duplicates.
Electronic reports have been unaffected by this issue and we would strongly encourage all
healthcare professionals and the wider public to report using www.yellowcard.gov.uk wherever
possible. This site provides a fast, simple and secure method to report a suspected side effect of a
medicine, and enables faster assessment of potential safety issues.
If you have any concerns or urgent matters that you wish to discuss, please call the CHM free
phone on 0800 731 6789.
Thank you once again for your support of the Yellow Card Scheme.
Yours faithfully,
Professor Kent Woods
CEO