#MedSafetyWeek (3-9 November 2025): A call to action to improve patient safety
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-23)

The annual #MedSafetyWeek campaign takes place from 3 to 9 November 2025. This year’s campaign theme is ‘we can all help make medicines safer.’

Anyone can report, either for yourself or someone else, with everyone benefiting each time we do. This aligns with the World Health Organization (WHO) ‘Patients for patient safety (https://www.who.int/initiatives/patients-for-patient-safety)’ programme.

In the UK, we are focusing on highlighting the importance of reporting suspected problems from all healthcare products to the Yellow Card scheme, no matter who you are. We are seeking your support to raise awareness of the scheme to increase awareness and reporting from the general public.

You can report suspected adverse drug reactions to any medicine (including blood products, vaccines and herbal/homeopathic medicines), as well as from other healthcare products including medical device incidents, defective and falsified (fake) products, and safety concerns with e-cigarettes/vapes and their refill containers (e-liquids).

This year we’re celebrating 10 years of #MedSafetyWeek and working together with regulators from 117 countries and 131 organisations participating across the globe in the campaign.

Calling all Healthcare Professionals to support #MedSafetyWeek 2025:
- follow MHRA social media channels (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency#what-we-do) and share campaign content using hashtags #MHRAYellowCard, #MedSafetyWeek, #ReportSideEffects, and #patientsafety to increase the awareness of reporting
- use campaign materials (https://who-umc.org/medsafetyweek/) and other resources available on the Yellow Card website to raise awareness locally, including a digital poster for screens and for patient waiting areas
- tell your colleagues and report problems with healthcare products to the Yellow Card scheme (http://www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard) or via the Yellow Card app (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/app)
- inform patients about potential risks of healthcare products and what to do if they experience any side effects; this includes encouraging them to self-report using the Yellow Card scheme and the importance of reporting to improve patient safety
Background

Healthcare professionals play a vital role in identifying and reporting suspected problems with healthcare products. Reporting is considered the cornerstone of effective safety monitoring. Yellow Card reports help identify new adverse effects and gain more information about known adverse effects to prevent future harm to others.

Resources and Further Information
- Visit the Yellow Card #MedSafetyWeek campaign page (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/MedSafetyWeek) and download the materials for use
- See the Yellow Card website (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/) for more information and resources including e-learning modules, promotional materials, and reporting guidance
- Contact your local Yellow Card Centre (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/YCCs), Medication Safety Officer (MSO) or Medical Device Safety Officer (MDSO) for support and wider opportunities
- Read the Yellow Card scheme guidance for healthcare professionals and the public (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-yellow-card-scheme-guidance-for-healthcare-professionals) on gov.uk
- Reporting makes a big difference – share our case studies (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/casestudies) where Yellow Card reports have directly contributed to improving patient safety
- Sign up to receive our MHRA safety alerts (see below additional information section), or find guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-communications-concerning-medicines-medical-devices-and-other-healthcare-products) on our website about the different types of alerts we issue
- Find more information and resources about the global #MedSafetyWeek campaign which is available on the Uppsala Monitoring Centre’s website (https://who-umc.org/medsafetyweek/)
Reporting for medicines

Healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers and the public are asked to submit reports using the Yellow Card scheme electronically using:
- the Yellow Card website (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/)
- the Yellow Card app (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/app)
- some clinical IT systems for healthcare professionals (Optum/EMIS, SystmOne, Vision, MiDatabank, and Ulysses)
When reporting suspected adverse drug reactions, please provide as much information as possible, including information about medical history, any concomitant medication, onset timing, and treatment dates.

Reporting for medical devices

Healthcare professionals should report incidents:
- in England and Wales to the Yellow Card website (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/) or via the Yellow Card app
- in Scotland to Incident Reporting & Investigation Centre (IRIC) (https://www.nss.nhs.scot/health-facilities/incidents-and-alerts/report-an-incident/) and their local incident recording system
- in Northern Ireland to the Yellow Card website in accordance with your organisations medical device policies and procedures
Patients, caregivers and the public should report incidents via the Yellow Card website (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/) or the Yellow Card app (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/app)

The latest news from the Yellow Card scheme

We need your help with the Yellow Card Biobank study

The Yellow Card Biobank (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/biobank)’s goal is to improve understanding of how patients’ genetic makeup may increase their risk of experiencing adverse reactions from prescribed medications. We are looking for patients who have taken GLP-1 medicines prescribed to support weight loss and diabetes management, and who have experienced the rare side effect of acute pancreatitis (inflamed pancreas).

Calling the next generation of doctors: Enter our essay writing competition

We are inviting medical students and foundation doctors across the UK to enter our Patient Safety essay writing competition (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/Patient-safety-essay-competition-2025) to win a cash prize and present at a Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) meeting. Share your insights on the vital role of genetics in enhancing the efficacy and safety of medicines for patients.

New e-learning resources

The MHRA has partnered with the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) to develop a new and free online learning resource, as part of our suite of e-learning modules (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/e-learning) for healthcare professionals.

Download document

#MedSafetyWeek (3-9 November 2025): A call to action to improve patient safety (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68fa05b8e200d653d8b636f8/MedSafetyWeek__3-9_November_2025__-_A_call_to_action_to_improve_patient_safety.pdf)

Additional information

You can sign up (https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKMHRA/subscriber/new?topic_id=UKMHRA_0044) to receive email notifications for Drug Safety Updates

You can sign up (https://subscriptions.mhra.gov.uk/accounts/UKMHRA/signup/45372) to receive our monthly roundup of safety communications

Sign up (https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/email-signup) to receive notifications for other types of alerts, including Device Safety Information

For any enquiries, please contact xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

Article citation: MHRA Drug Safety Update volume 19, issue 3: October 2025: 1