Clinical Negligence News

NHS medication errors increase by nearly 100% in 2 years - Sam Brown

According to official figures, the number of patients given the wrong medication by the NHS has doubled in just 2 years.

A report from the National Patient Safety Agency found a "significant" rise in the number of errors and near misses reported by NHS Staff.

There were more than 86,000 incidents reported in 2007 in contrast with 36,335 in 2005. Of these, 96% resulted in low or no harm, but at least 100 resulted in serious harm or death.

Professor David Cousins, a senior pharmacist at the NPSA, said it was well known that that only 10% of incidents are actually reported. This suggests that there could have been 860,000 errors or near misses in 2007 alone.

The report listed the top five errors in the NHS as patients being given the wrong doses; medicines being missed or delayed; patients being given the wrong drug; patients being given the wrong quantity (such as too much chemotherapy) or mismatching, where two patients are given each other's medicines.

The Chief Executive of the NPSA said that the rise in figures reflected a willingness by NHS staff to report errors.

Lees Solicitors LLP Clinical Negligence team deal with a variety of cases, including issues relating to medication errors please contact our team for further information on 0800 387 927.

Sam Brown

This article provides a summary of a recent case/change in law/news item. It is intended for general information purposes only and is not to be relied upon. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated under any circumstances as a substitute for legal advice. Lees Solicitors LLP does not accept any responsibility for any loss that may arise from reliance upon the information contained within this article. The copyright in this article is owned by Lees Solicitors LLP and permission must be sought before reproduction or publishing.

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