The most recent Covid-19 statistics available for East Suffolk to March 13th 2024 are here - eastsuffolkcovid19.uk
(Last updated on: 21st March 2024 at 5:07pm)
-----◄►-----
- - - LINK TO GULL WING BRIDGE LIVE STREAM - - -
-----◄►-----
Click on the header image above to go to the latest uploads in the forum gallery of bridge construction images

Prescribed drug errors may be responsible for 22,000 deaths a year.

Somewhere to discuss anything related to health issues.
Post Reply
User avatar
boatbuilder
Site Administrator
Site Administrator
Posts: 56744
Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2010 4:36 pm
Male/Female: Male
Location: Carlton Colville - Lowestoft
Contact:

Prescribed drug errors may be responsible for 22,000 deaths a year.

Post by boatbuilder » Fri Feb 23, 2018 2:36 am

Drug errors cause appalling harm and deaths, says Hunt

Drug errors cause appalling levels of harm and deaths, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says, as new data suggests millions of mistakes are being made.
GPs, pharmacists, hospitals and care homes may be making 237 million errors a year - the equivalent of a mistake made for every five drugs handed out.
The study said most caused no problems, but in more than a quarter of cases the mistakes could have caused harm.
The errors could also be a factor in more than 22,000 deaths.
The researchers - drawn form Manchester, Sheffield and York universities - acknowledge that there is limited data in this area so the figures are very much best estimates based on previous research, some of it going back years.
But they believe they are robust enough to warrant action.
The mistakes include:
  • wrong medications being given
  • incorrect doses dispensed
  • delays in medication being administered
A fifth of the mistakes related to hospital care, including errors made by doctors administering anaesthetic before surgery.
The rest were pretty evenly split between drugs given in the community by GPs and pharmacists and those handed out in care homes.

Read the Full Report

I have previously raised my concerns on here as my wife takes quite a few medications and the issues that worry me are:
  • Differences in colours of the same medications
  • Different drug manufacturers used by pharmacies from one prescription to the next (i.e. different packaging)
Since I mentioned this some two years ago, my wife now receives her medications in pre-filled dosett boxes so the packaging is of less concern but the variation in tablet colour from one prescription to the next can still be variable and I have wondered if an incorrect tablet type has been used. The difference on one occasion was so marked that I did raise a query with the pharmacy. However, I did receive an assurance that they were the correct tablet.

Has anybody else had such concerns?
See my Suffolk Pictures at https://suffolk-world.com

Image
S t r e t c h e d - O y s t e r

You forget what you want to remember and remember what you would prefer to forget

User avatar
boatbuilder
Site Administrator
Site Administrator
Posts: 56744
Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2010 4:36 pm
Male/Female: Male
Location: Carlton Colville - Lowestoft
Contact:

Re: Prescribed drug errors may be responsible for 22,000 deaths a year.

Post by boatbuilder » Sun Feb 25, 2018 10:39 am

Just to emphasise a point, I was just attending to my wife's medication for the next 24 hours and started using a new lot of the dosett boxes and noticed this tablet in the new set of boxes is now orange - changed from white in the previous set. Markings are also different. The other sides of both are plain. :huh:
Tabs2.jpg
See my Suffolk Pictures at https://suffolk-world.com

Image
S t r e t c h e d - O y s t e r

You forget what you want to remember and remember what you would prefer to forget

muzzy
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 789
Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 8:54 am
Male/Female: Male

Re: Prescribed drug errors may be responsible for 22,000 deaths a year.

Post by muzzy » Sun Feb 25, 2018 5:44 pm

I have noticed the same with my indigestion tablets/capsules, which although are the same brand, change colours frequently.

Post Reply