Guidelines to help identify and tackle health problems in pharmacists and other health professionals have been published by the National Clinical Assessment Service (NCAS).

The NCAS guide includes a checklist for managers to spot health problems early and gives a step-by-step guide on how staff with health problems should be helped.

The standards are designed to improve detection of health problems – particularly mental health – in doctors, dentists and pharmacists in the NHS, enabling them to get help sooner, according to NCAS director Alastair Scotland.

"Those responsible for managing health professionals, and in particular those charged with monitoring performance, are in a strong position to identify early signs of possible ill-health and to take appropriate action," professor Scotland added.

The guidance also advises primary care organisations to help community pharmacists with health problems to ensure patient care is unaffected.

 "Where a primary care organisation becomes aware of a health concern about an individual pharmacist that might impact on a contractor's ability to comply with their terms of service, the PCO should assure itself that the contractor is appropriately managing the health concern, particularly where the concern may directly impact on patient safety," the NCAS guide states.

Between December 2007 and October 2010, about one in four health professionals referred to NCAS were identified as having a health concern, including anxiety, stress, depression and substance misuse.