According to the report, a University of London study of five hospitals in the capital concluded that 13% of 3000 prescriptions examined had were subject to errors. More worryingly, a fifth of these drugs given to children in 2004 and 2005 were “administered incorrectly”. Most errors were deemed to be non-harmful, however a small number were potentially fatal according to the Archives of Diseases in Childhood reports.
The research included a period of two weeks in which health care staff were observed administering drugs to children on 11 wards at five London hospitals. A staggering 429 administration errors were noted among 1544 doses of medicines provided for 265 children; giving an error rate of 19%.
Pharmacists reviewed drugs charts for 444 treated children over the two week period and subsequently identified and corrected around 13% of approximately 3000 prescriptions. The majority were reportedly “incomplete prescriptions”, however a third were actually dosing errors.
In fact, on five separate occasions investigators actually intervened to prevent the patient suffering the consequences!
Despite the study being inclusive of only a tiny spread of hospitals in London, the results are thought to be nation-wide; and despite the study being five years ago it is thought that they are accurate even for today!
According to experts, the majority of drugs are formulates for adults. This means that health staff have to calculate factors such as dosage themselves based on the child’s age, weight and condition for treating children. Furthermore, the majority of these drugs are not licensed for children; meaning no testing has ever been conducted and the drugs are therefore not technically approved for use on minors. This is thought to be an underlying cause of the problem.
Dr William Van’t Hoff of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has stated that the high error rate reflected the complexity of treating children, but was still very concerning. It is of course important to recognise that health care professionals are fighting an uphill battle and are probably subject to more human error than most of us. But this factor aside, whether the overall conclusions deem that the errors potential consequences are minor or not, this simply cannot happen any longer.
As I am sure many of you are aware, the NHS has such a strong duty of care to maintain the safety and wellbeing of all of its patents. Errors such as these with potentially fatal consequences are simply not acceptable – and the NHS is liable for any mistakes they make. As I have previously stated, it can be sometimes difficult to criticise the nurses for example, as we must recognise that their jobs can be somewhat stressful and difficult; and human error will always occur. But more needs, and more of course can, be done by the NHS to prevent such failures in the future.
If you have suffered due to the negligence of medical staff, you are actually entitled to claim for compensation. Medical negligence claims can be difficult to pursue however, and can often be lengthy in time. It is therefore important to speak to an expert independent personal injury solicitor form the right advise and the best representation.