Steroid Emergency Card
A National Patient Safety Alert has been issued by NHS England and NHS Improvement’s national patient safety team, supported by the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Physicians and the Society for Endocrinology, regarding the issuing of a Steroid Emergency Card to relevant patients to support the early recognition and treatment of adrenal crisis in adults.
Recently published national guidance promotes the issuing of a new patient-held Steroid Emergency Card to help healthcare staff identify patients with adrenal insufficiency and provide information on emergency treatment if the patient is acutely ill, experiences trauma, surgery or other major stressors.
Prescribers are asked to ensure all eligible patients are issued with a Steroid Emergency Card. Community pharmacies are asked to hold copies of the Steroid Emergency Card in stock to provide to patients if they lose or misplace their original cards.
You can view a PDF of the new card on the Society for Endocrinology website.
The Steroid Emergency Card will be available to order from Primary Care Support England (PCSE online) from 1st September 2020.
