Aim To look at how the Yellow Card Scheme is used by health care professionals (HCPs) in child health.

Methods An online SurveyMonkey questionnaire was devised to look at how healthcare professionals (HCPs) have used the Yellow Card Scheme in clinical practice. It comprised of 10 questions (9 multiple choice and 1 freestyle text). What type of healthcare professional are you? Are you aware of the Yellow Card reporting scheme? Have you ever used the Yellow Card Scheme to report an adverse drug reaction? If yes, how did you make the report? (If no, select N/A) If you haven’t ever reported a reaction, would you know how to? Have you ever completed an e learning module about the Yellow Card Scheme? Are you aware that parents can report adverse drug reactions using the Yellow Card Scheme? Have you ever been aware of an adverse drug reaction but decided not to report it? If yes, what was the reason you chose not to report it? (If no, select N/A) Can you think of any ways to make the Yellow Card Scheme more accessible to healthcare professionals? It was piloted on 5 HCPS and minor textural revisions made. The questionnaire was then undertaken via face-to-face interviews during June 2018.

Results 50 healthcare professionals completed the questionnaire: 16 doctors, 13 nurses, 8 pharmacists, 9 medical students, 2 nursing students and 2 pharmacy technicians. 43/50 were aware of the Yellow Card Scheme (10 undergraduates and 33 postgraduates). 18 participants had used the Yellow Card whilst 32 had not reported an adverse drug event. Out of the 32 respondents who had never reported a reaction, 13 (7 undergraduates and 6 postgraduates) said that they would not know how to report a reaction if required. Only 9 had completed an online e learning module about the Yellow Card scheme. 30 participants were aware that parents could report using the scheme. 10 participants had been aware of an adverse drug reaction but decided not to report it. The most common reason for this was being too busy. The most common suggestion on how to improve accessibility to the Yellow Card Scheme was the implementation of a mobile phone application.

Conclusion Most participants were aware of the Yellow Card scheme although undergraduates less so. Many had reported, although some had chosen not to report because they were: too busy; not being concerned enough; not knowing how to; having forgotten. An app already exists, but awareness of this appears low, as it was the commonest suggestion to aid the low reporting.