Hospital patients fail to get medicines

18 March 2010

HOSPITAL patients are not getting all the medication they need, a new report has revealed.

A National Patient Safety Agency report has found failings in every hospital in England and Wales with patients often not being given medication on time or even at all, putting many at risk of harm or even death.

The watchdog said that between September 2006 and June 2009 it received reports of 27 deaths, 68 cases of “severe harm” and more than 21,300 other patient safety incidents relating to cases of delayed or missed medication. But it admits the actual figures may be even higher as the agency relies on hospitals to report errors voluntarily. The NPSA is now writing to hospitals urging them to take action.

The most common reason given for errors was that the drug wasn’t available on the ward. No reason was given in many other cases, raising fears that nurses are forgetting to administer medicines.

In one of the most serious cases cited in the report, a patient died from an infection despite a doctor ordering antibiotics to be given immediately. The nurse in charge admitted she had been “too busy to listen”.

The NPSA is calling on hospitals, as well as mental health units and community centres, to review their practices and carry out regular audits to monitor the issue. It also wants hospitals to create a list of critical medicines that must always be given on time and a system introduced to flag this up to staff.

Peter Walsh, chief executive of Action against Medical Accidents, said: "We hear about these problems all too often. It is a major problem which can cause suffering. Hospitals seem to be in such a rush that basic care like this is forgotten and this needs to be tackled. But I also think carers and relatives can get involved and talk to staff about medication."

A Department of Health spokeswoman said patient safety was a “top priority”, adding: “We expect all NHS organisations to have rigorous checks and reporting procedures in place to ensure that the services they provide are as safe as possible for all patients."