NHS drug errors may be causing up to 22,000 deaths every year
NHS drug blunders may be causing up to 22,000 deaths a year, with “appalling” levels of avoidable harm, the Health Secretary warns today.
Jeremy Hunt pledged a revolution in patient safety - and a shift away from a “cover-up culture” as research found mistakes by doctors, nurses and pharmacists amount to 237 million drug errors every year.
He said the scale of the problem was “shocking” - and constituted “a far bigger problem” than had been realised, as he announced sweeping changes to improve the NHS’ safety record.
The research led by the University of York, which analysed 36 major studies, suggests that more than seven in ten potentially harmful errors are being made by GPs and pharmacists, with patients ending up in hospital because they were prescribed the wrong drug.
The study estimates that avoidable drug errors are causing more than 700 deaths a year, and could be contributing to between 1,700 and 22,000 deaths.
In total, almost one in six hospital patients fell victim to a drug blunder, the research suggests.
One of the most common causes of deaths occurred when patients were prescribed drugs by GPs which resulted in fatal gastro-intestinal bleeding. NHS errors were most likely when patients were elderly, and among those taking several types of medication.
The findings come from a review ordered by the Health and Social Care Secretary, which is published today. It suggests that the scale of the blunders is now costing the NHS £1.6bn a year.
Writing for the Telegraph, Mr Hunt said the findings were “alarming”.
“Frankly, the results came as a shock - and showed the issue is more widespread and deep-seated than any of us realised,” he writes.
“Millions of us take different types of medicines to manage illness or ongoing conditions every day - which is perhaps why today's figures are so startling,” highlighting findings showing 237 million drug errors in England each year.
“It is likely that many of these errors are picked up before they reach the patient, and the majority are minor with little potential to cause harm. But the research still suggests that there are an estimated 66 million incidents a year where an error may affect a patient's health - this includes a shocking 1,700 deaths that could be caused by avoidable drug reactions, and they may even be responsible for up to 22,000 deaths,” he said.
“These are not just statistics - they are someone's mum, child or partner suffering harm or tragedy when it didn't need to happen,” he writes.
Today the Government will announce reforms to NHS systems in order to better prevent and identify drug errors.
The changes will link up GP and hospital technology, and speed up electronic prescribing, which has been shown to halve error rates, by warning staff of possible safety risks.
The research found no evidence that Britain’s error rates are worse than those elsewhere, with the UK better than many other countries at collecting such data.
Mr Hunt said the NHS had already embarked on a “quiet revolution” to make safety improvements, as he pledged to make Britain a “global leader” in stamping out medication errors, and “blaze a trail” to improve patient safety.
Just one in three NHS trusts currently have robust electronic prescribing systems, which warn doctors and pharmacists about any risks attached to their drug requests - such as drugs being contraindicated, or if dosages appear too high.
The new plans will speed up the introduction of such systems more widely.
Mr Hunt also pledged to work with clinicians to improve the design of the systems they work in, improving medication packaging to reduce the risk of error.
And he promised changes to build a culture of openness and transparency, including measures to ensure pharmacists felt able to speak up about genuine errors, without fear of prosecution.
Speaking at the Global Patient Safety summit, a gathering of experts on patient safety in London today, Mr Hunt will say: "My mission has always been to make the NHS one of the safest healthcare systems and although we do well in international comparisons this new study shows medication error in the NHS and globally is a far bigger problem than generally recognised, causing appalling levels of harm and death that are totally preventable.
"We are taking a number of steps today, but part of the change needs also to be cultural: moving from a blame culture to a learning culture so doctors and nurses are supported to be open about mistakes rather than cover them up for fear of losing their job.”
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: "GPs work hard to avoid making mistakes in the prescribing process, and our patients should be reassured that in the vast majority of cases, prescriptions are made appropriately and correctly.
But as well as being highly-qualified medical professionals, doctors are also human, so medication mistakes can and occasionally do happen.
She welcomed the measures announced today to reduce medication error risks. However, she said addressing safety also meant funding the NHS properly, with enough staff to deliver safe patient care.
“Ultimately, we need to see NHS England’s GP Forward View, which promises an extra £2.4bn for general practice, 5,000 more GPs and 5,000 more members of the practice team, delivered, in full, as a matter of urgency," she said.
Why is the NHS under so much pressure?
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An ageing population. There are one million more people over the age of 65 than five years ago. This has caused a surge in demand for medical care
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Cuts to budgets for social care. While the NHS budget has been protected, social services for home helps and other care have fallen by 11 per cent in five years. This has caused record levels of “bedblocking”; people with no medical need to be in hospital are stuck there because they can’t be supported at home
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Staff shortages. While hospital doctor and nurse numbers have risen over the last decade, they have not kept pace with the rise in demand. Meanwhile 2016 saw record numbers of GP practices close, displacing patients on to A&E departments as they seek medical advice
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Lifestyle factors. Drinking too much alcohol, smoking, a poor diet with not enough fruit and vegetables and not doing enough exercise are all major reasons for becoming unwell and needing to rely on our health services. Growing numbers of overweight children show this problem is currently set to continue
Comments 403 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5424789/Up-22-000-deaths-year-caused-medication-mistakes.html?
Direkt, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
If you want to stay healthy avoid hospitals.
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Walter Bean, Hull, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
RigRat2 Hospitals have always been dangerous places and killed people. Even under Labour believe it or not. Google 'doctors strike and patients stop dying'
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James_Rustle, Neverton, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Yep, if you have a brain haemorrhage, just sit at home and wait it out. Those hospitals are nothing but bad news, hey.
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Thomas57, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
That's truly disgusting. Add this number to the 20,000 that are killed because of general mistakes, that's mass murder. We need to demand this stops right now.
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OnesOpinion, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Jill and Ceecee , Yes i totally agree we would benefit as a customer's attitude and behaviour has a huge impact too. There is a lot who think it's 'just picking a box off the shelf and chucking it into a bag' or 'it's only one thing' without realising there are 8 more scripts in front possibly with 4/5 items on each... or realising the care and time needed when dispensing and assembling a script. I suppose you don't truly know unless work there or care to know. There are people who do care to understand though and it is so so appreciated. So big thanks to those people out there who do understand and care. Ceecee, I've been there too and it's awful. I really hope you start to feel better soon. It's awful to suffer from and to see colleagues suffer especially when you know how it can all be resolved, well, made a lot better. Btw in both of your opinions do you think that the cutting/reducing of staff may have something to do with the Hubs and robots progressing?
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James_Rustle, Neverton, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
"Oh, you're demanding us to stop making mistakes? Why didn't you say earlier? We'll stop making mistakes straight away! Problem fixed!"
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Bill In The Desert, La Quinta, United States, 3 days ago
It is not just in the U.K. that this happens. On leaving the hospital in California, I was given five prescriptions for continued use at home. They were filled at one of the principal pharmacies in the U.S. Three of the five were filled with completely different drugs. Only the diligence of a relative saved me from taking them. The pharmacist, on being told of the mistake, replied: "We're have a bad day today.".
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sceptical, Ware, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
It amazes me that the same drug & strength tablets from different manufacturers can be totally different sizes, shapes & colours. I'm currently on 3 different tablets & sometimes all 3 look the same.
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sceptical, Ware, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
'That's the manufacture of the drug nothing to do with the wrong drug.'-----------well obviously but it's easy to see how they could get mixed up.
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Samjoy1, northampton, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
They send prescribing advisers in to change the doctor's prescribed drug to save money causing me reactions.
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Cedric Egg, Windsor, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I often cannot understand the doctor's writing on the drug chart when I do the drugs round.
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Jack Smith101, london, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Cedric, I wish they would ban hand written prescriptions, Patients screaming in your face because you are taking to long to dispense their prescription when you are trying to clarify with the GP what they have written which looks like it was done by a 5 year old. I'm sorry for trying to prevent harm to you by giving you the wrong drug. I can't wait to get out of this profession, six years and I have had enough.
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James_Rustle, Neverton, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Well. thats ok because there's an electronic system which things are ordered from and not written down.
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atjen66, brighton, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
This happened to me I was taking blood pressure tablets and diuretic tablets and my new gp changed my tablets and the new prescription the diuretic tablets dosage was wrong leading to a build up of fluid in my chest which required me to be hospitalised and then in hospital I caught pneumonia. And two years later I am still having breathing problems. The gp has retired.
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RichardA, Yokohama Japan, 3 days ago
Except in a few rare cases of deliberate malevolence, the majority of these deaths are the result of total system failures, leading to an individual somewhere inevitably contributing to the death, and then being blamed. To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System by the National Academies Press isn an excellent overview of medical errors, albeit from a US point of view.
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Thor, Belfast, 3 days ago
22 thousand killed costing the NHS £1.6 billion a year unreal. You would think they would have figured out. A way to do this with hardly a mistake by now.
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Plassey, Milton keynes, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Kills more then illegal drugs a year.
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Missacidburn, Newport, 3 days ago
actually alcohol does.
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Bull terrier, Chelmsford, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Total and utter shambles just like the rest of the country !! Liberalism has Fu¿ked this country right up .
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RigRat2, The North, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
The Tories have been in charge for 6 years , hardly the liberals fault
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Pert_Derriere, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I¿ve seen three examples of this in the last two weeks from people I know. Two are cancer patients. It took them being hospitalised as a result for the error to be realised. I¿m a transplant patient and I too have experienced errors. When you are sick you put your faith in things being correct, you don¿t always have the strength to be overly diligent. It¿s a sad state of affairs.
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mottle, perth, 3 days ago
Unsurprising. The NHS is a nationalised industry. Mistakes and poor service are par for the course in them, and so is lack of accountability. Remember when the state made cars? We got the Austin Allegro.
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Robert, Wigan, 3 days ago
So what¿s the alternative? A privately funded scheme where only the wealthy are seen by ¿preset¿ patient slots? The NHS like many other public sector bodies has been pushed to breaking point, while always trying to do that little bit extra. Harping back to the Allegro that¿s over quarter of a century ago. Get a grip please and move on...
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PC5g08, England, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
1700 in hospital and then 20600 in the community !!!!!!!!¿¿¿¿¿
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Petrabreeze, Maidstone, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Before visiting a doctor, if you manage to make an appointment, research the drugs that might help your condition and then talk to the pharmacist who will have an intimate knowledge of the side effects and benefits. Doctors just don¿t have the time and will often prescribe drugs like tramadol without informing you of the real dangers and problems of addiction. Pharmacists are under utilised and will help you make the right decisions.
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jddm, london, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Has Sophie Borland ever written a positive article?
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Alexander_p, Preston, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
It¿s terrible I know but it¿s near impossible for a dr to guess the right medication for you let a lone the dosage you might need. Some smaller people can handle a lot of alcohol but a really big person can be very ill of the same amount. Everybody is different and must be very difficult for drs no matter how good/educated/experienced they are. Still the family would probably not think that of their loved one who died which i get
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Alexander_p, Preston, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Sorry they should know what¿s wrong with you but what dosage would be difficult
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lizzie14, bristol, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Try working in a busy pharmacy. Where government have cut the money given so staffing is cut.
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Watson and Holmes, Baker Street, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Recently my pharmacy gave me someone else¿s medicine by mistake. The computer printed sticky label had my name on it. It could have been dangerous, but fortunately I noticed it. I wonder whether this is common?
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Destructivedave, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
And the people dying from cannabis supplements?
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jenny10marie, north west, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I have severe OCD and this is the main reason in my job, it frightens me to death. So it takes me forever to do a drug round as I have to check it a million times and question it before I give it. Other nurses get annoyed. Thinking of quitting and doing something else, interestingly never had mental health probs before I became a nurse
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JGM, Sense-common , United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Well that¿s a bit rich by Hunt! Bet the errors aren¿t killing as many as HIS cut backs !!
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Mzungu, Sodden-on-the-Water, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
For Brits the NHS seems to be a national treasure mentioned in the same hallowed breath as the Queen, Freddie Mercury (the other queen) and fish and chips. But they make 400,000 medical mistakes/blunders per year. That isn't a small amount and doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
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geebers, Rottherham, 3 days ago
When people die in hospital through mistakes it¿s always through complications. Until there is an admission by them that they made a mistake they are in denial. We are all human after all and we all make mistakes. Maybe compensation culture is to blame.
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Zorro, UK, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
The anti gun lobby should change focus and activate against incompetent medicos whose systemic failures kill so many in one year than crazed gunmen since guns were invented. Christ, they have killed more people in one year than the IRA in a 100 years.
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particles, amsterdam, 3 days ago
EVERY SINGLE DAY, president Trump is vindicated after the comment he made that provoked all that fake 'outrage' The Daily Mail knows it, the PEOPLE know it, that the NHS , that once 'jewel in the crown of England' is nothing but a mis-managed shambles and bureaucratic monolith to failure. A SHAME on Britain
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comment sense, Northampton, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
A Doctor who makes a diagnosis and creates a resultant prescription is unlikely to be involved with either the dispensing or administering of such, so it really doesn't matter how good they are, if the next stage of the process is flawed. Human error will always be a factor and is unavoidable, but it can be controlled and reduced if proper training and procedures are in place. Most importantly though there needs to be enough resource in place to make it happen. The most hard working and diligent humans will make more mistakes if they are expected to perform beyond their capacity.
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lalalala55, warrington, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
In my experience you have to monitor everything .Mistakes are often made due to pressure of work rather than incompetence.
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AC, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Pressure of work certainly is no excuse!. It all boils down to carelessness and inadequate safety checks.
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Samjoy1, northampton, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Well said. Abroad I get 30min to see the GP. Here I get only 10min and I saw the huge pile of prescriptions he has to sign and moaning about it. Guess you get what you pay for.
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Pickle, Liverpool, 3 days ago
Doesn¿t surprise me at all. My husband was in hospital for cancer and septicaemia last year in both private and nhs hospitals. He was given the wrong info about a skin graft, inadequate dressings, wrong strength of drugs at least twice and wrongly timed doses. Good job we were on the ball and spotted the mistakes before they became dangerous. Staff seemed unbothered and quite blasé about any mistakes. It was quite scary.
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OnesOpinion, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I work in pharmacy and I tell you now, a closer look needs to be taken within the companies. Staff being under so much pressure&stress due to understaffing and targets. It may not always look it on the outside but pharmacy is a very, very hectic, high intensity job that requires maximum concentration. 100's of scripts per day. Not just walk in scripts but collections, deliveries,call backs,nomad trays, warehouse delivery of hundreds of medication to put away twice a day,prescription ordering,stock counts, date checking&more.All this understaffed with impossible targets. Yes human error will always be made but majority of errors do occur due to pressure from staff shortages. Luckily most are identified before it gets to a patient.Sick leave is always quite high due to anxiety & stress also. What does that say?Wasn't like this 10 years ago. More is expected now with less.Pharmacy environments should be looked into&they would soon see why it's happening.The companies know full well why.
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jillthepill, Bristol, 2 days ago
Walter Bean in a world where funding to Pharmacy has been consistently cut over the years you expect us to believe that Pharmacists pay wages to staff who have nothing to do?
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OnesOpinion, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Walter, They probably do have plenty to do but also they may be one of the very few pharmacies which are correctly staffed, well managed and looked after. Or it may be one of the quieter pharmacies with less patients and items to do. Customer to staff ratio makes a huge difference too and they may be a pharmacy which has it right. Also just out of curiosity is it a private pharmacy? Or a large chain pharmacy?
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TruthSayer1, Portsmouth, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Plenty of hospital survival guidebooks on the market. Not just medication errors, but plenty of surgical errors, radiation dose errors, etc. Always mark on your body with a permanent marker, the place where the surgeon needs to cut - so many instances of surgeons viewing x-ray films the wrong way round and patients having the wrong kidney removed, wrong hip/knee replaced, etc...
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Sarjana Lastname, SanDominion, Portugal, 3 days ago
Other words study your disease and teach hospital staff what to do. Then ask 2 witnesses be whit you to testify that they do what you have teach to them. Have to sa that death cant defend them selves, and relatives are kept so busy that their dont have time to catch murderess.
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Ria, Paris, France, 3 days ago
I remember a sad case where they took out, because the X ray was held up the wrong way, a man's good kidney instead of the cancerous one. It was too late when they discovered their mistake, he died shortly after.
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AutoGrow, Scotland, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
we need British people in our doctors and pharmacies,,, they are giving us the wrong medications something should be done NOW.
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dgrls nnflg, London, 3 days ago
I'd be somewhat uneasy going into hospital nowadays, to say the least, having just read this article.
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Capricorn01, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
If that statistic is correct, then everyone who prescribes and handles drugs should be retrained, that's more deaths than virtually any other cause we know.
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Yankee Nationalist, New England, United States, 3 days ago
22,000 people... That's quite a lot of mistakes!
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T-G, Bristol, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
How has sky news said it¿s 1,700 per year and you have said it¿s 22,000? That is a massive difference! Don¿t know which to believe myself. There are a lot of medicine errors but most are minor, it¿s more likely 22,000 errors altogether and 1,700 deaths per year
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British Observer, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 3 days ago
Come on DM. Sort this out.
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Bull terrier, Chelmsford, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Just before Christmas DM run a article that 48% of cancer diagnosis were incorrect.and now this feels me with such confidence!!!.
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Cheribaby, Somewhereoutthere, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
By coincidence, I collected my regular tablets for high blood pressure yesterday, to discover that one of them had been swapped for a drug that is prescribed for gout! A trip back to Boots in the morning to sort it out.
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Cheribaby, Somewhereoutthere, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Funnily enough, one of them was! Think I may change chemists.
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Cheribaby, Somewhereoutthere, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Out of stock, that is!
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Obsessedwithme, OFFTHEGRID, United States, 3 days ago
It is over 200k in the states...just to give you some perspective. All of our commercials are drug ads where you guys are not allowed to show over there.
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Max, Leicester, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
So i have a good diet, don't smoke or drink but visiting a Doctor or hospital could kill me,brilliant,bring on brexit.
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Kentish Maid, Canterbury, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
But you seem to have a mental problem. How can Brexit possibly be connected to errors in prescribing and administering medication? I¿d really like you to explain why the EU is to blame!
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British Observer, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 3 days ago
These are just meds accidents. The numbers of elderly falling to deliberate methods such as Injector driver syringes will be many times more. Only in this manner can combining Health and Social Care save money.
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Concerned 3, Verulam, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I've always had a deep distrust of GPs ( although my brother is one,) and hospitals VERY dangerous places.
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Kentish Maid, Canterbury, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I¿m with you all the way. My brother in law was a GP. He used to say if you want to lead a long and happy life stay away from the doctor!
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Emma, Guildford, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
If relatives didn't interrupt drugs rounds this figure would be halved straight away!!!
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OrdinaryAverageBloke, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
When I read ¿no system involving humans will ever be perfect¿ I¿m left wondering what a state it would be in if the aviation industry had that attitude? Please set the bar a little higher NHS.
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Sh, Shrewsbury, 3 days ago
Are you kidding? How many humans do you know who have never made a mistake? It's inevitable at some point! The bar is high in the NHS, people don't go to work and think oh I think I'll make a mistake today. No one in the health profession wants to make a mistake, particularly if it hurts someone.
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chitty1941, Channel Islands, Jersey, 3 days ago
Not to worry Jeremy is going to sort it out lol
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Kentish Maid, Canterbury, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Well he surely can¿t be any worse than this mob and I¿m saying this as a life long Conservative. Won¿t be voting for them again in the foreseeable future!
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Steve, Nottingham, 3 days ago
My father was nearly killed by his GP prescribing a drug for too long, the paramedic questioned my father after his 3rd collapse, he pointed out that one of the drugs my father had been taking for 2 years should only have been prescribed for a few months. GPs and doctors are the same they can't be bothered to check, had a similar problem when I took my father to AE, arrogant consultant did not listen to a word my father said unlike the nurse who took notes asked pertinent questions. When I asked the consultant to actually listen to my father, the look on the arrogant gits face was one of incredulousness that I dared to challenge him, I had to ask him a second time.
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JuliaBenson, Newcastle, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
That is probably why we are encouraged to let the pharmacist review our prescriptions.
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ttGuy, Oxford, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
With our mum it was a blood pressure drug. Csused her to get dizzy and weak a lot. Unable to get in or out of bath etc. V dangetmrous. I got her off them and she is now full of energy. and much happier.
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Gym Member, Bangkok, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
22,000 avoidable deaths. That's terrible.
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Gym Member, Bangkok, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
22,000 avoidable deaths. That's terrible.
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Gym Member, Bangkok, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
22,000 avoidable deaths. That's terrible.
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PrinceCorum, Camnridge, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Do not worry. The government makes up the numbers by inviting ex ISIS members in.
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Gym Member, Bangkok, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
22,000 avoidable deaths. That's terrible.
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Gym Member, Bangkok, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I'm not sure why this posted 4 times!
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ronito, boussac, France, 3 days ago
This has got to be Fake News. After all, the NHS is the best health service in the world, or so we are lead to believe.
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ronito, boussac, France, 3 days ago
Old Sparky - glad you agree then, the NHS has a problem - you'd better sort it
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Old Sparky, Utopia Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Just surrender like you do in France, that's your answer to everything, and wave them all through at Calais of course, end of (YOUR) problem! Ronito beneto!
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Irishdad, High Wycombe, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Don¿t believe it! If this were true we would be seeing stories in the press (more then one) on a daily basis! What utter nonsense! This is scaremongering against the NHS!
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Old Sparky, Utopia Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I take 4 different tabs a day, they may be keeping me alive - they might not, and there's always a risk that the doctor or pharmacist got it wrong! You're either going to trust them, or get scared to death by stories like this one! People need to take personal responsibility as well, and CHECK what they're given, and not be afraid to question their doc or pharmacist!
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n8935f, birmingham, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Daily Mail really is going out all out on showing us how much the nhs is failing. Setting it all up for when Theresa May pushes for privatisation.
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Lenslenns, london, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
237million such errors This figure sounds erroneous.
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Old Sparky, Utopia Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
The 'INTERNATIONAL' health service, patient expectations and Jeremy Hunt, is a perfect storm, of underfunded, over worked, bent and buckling hospitals, trusts in the financial red, treating everyone who turns up on the doorstep of the UK with a snivelling cold with antibiotics or to have their babies at our expense! Free gender change surgery, breast too big or too little done on the free! Why are we even surprised things are so bad then?
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JuliaBenson, Newcastle, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Of course there will be mistakes. Just think of the scale of the NHS, thousands of people working there, it is used by almost everyone in the country. They all do the best they can, but mistakes will always happen.
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PrinceCorum, Camnridge, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Yes mistakes happen. But it is unacceptable to accept that. Otherwise why bother with medicine anyway? After all diseases happen.
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PrinceCorum, Camnridge, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
This is a multi faceted problem. I was put on a drug that I should not have been given because I was on another drug which it reacted with to cause kidney damage. A blood test picked up kidney damage a few weeks into the regime and the mistake was rectified with no long term damage. The drug was allocated to me by a hospital consultant who 'did not realise' I was on the other drug (so much for charts), my pharmacist, a supposed expert , failed to notice the problem, and the computer systems that could easily flag up this sort of problem failed to do so. Ipso facto this is a systemic problem at many levels.
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jillthepill, Bristol, 2 days ago
Do you always get all your prescriptions dispensed at the same Pharmacy? If you do then any interaction will be flagged up. That drug that you had dispensed at a different Pharmacy could interact with any of your meds. It is your responsibility to support your Pharmacist by letting them create a complete record of any medicine taken.
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PrinceCorum, Camnridge, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I always used the same pharmacy. Which I have now changed.
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Hadenough, South Coast., United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Years ago you could trust your Doctor with your life but unfortunately things are very different today.
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steveirwin, here, Bahamas, 3 days ago
This is why the roll out of robots needs to be quicker.
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zipdip, Harwich, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Well I suspect that the number of dispensary mistakes are far outweighed by people taking to many of the drugs,as for people being given the wrong drugs,most people will well know what colour ,size and make the drugs they normally take,I do not doubt mistakes happen the number of people using chemists for dispensed drugs,is frankly amazing,at our cottage hospital they have a stand alone chemists and people are queued out the door,maybe doctors should review all drugs given to their patients many of these drugs are not needed.
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Miss L Laneous, East Angular, Norfolk Island, 3 days ago
The NHS is cutting back funding for pharmacies all the time, another cut due later this year. At the same time, we are all told to ask the pharmacist for advice before making a GP appointment to ease the pressure on GPs. Workload increasing, staffing having to reduce, mistakes inevitable.
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Norton John L, Norwich, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
If your'e over 60 you will more than likely be given Statins and drugs for your blood pressure whether you need them or not, it's seems to be policy. If you don't need them as in many cases, they are very harmful. I would urge all people to check there own blood pressure or insist that their doctors test their BP using an ambulatory blood pressure monitor as recommended by NICE because so many people have a raised BP when taken in the confines of a doctors surgery for obvious reasons.
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null, 3 days ago
Agree, twice at hospital I¿ve been told mine is dangerously high, and high at gps surgery, took it myself at home, took 30 readings in to show gp, he said it was fine, I had white coat syndrome.
02Click to rate
Omartron, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
No wonder that they want to limit compensation pay outs.
09Click to rate
Raggarty, Almeria, Spain, 3 days ago
It's another indication of how behind the UK is becoming. The automated prescription software that alerts doctors and pharmacists to possible dosage and interaction issues has been in use in Spain for several years. I'm on tamoxifen for breast cancer but also see a cardiologist for chemo induced heart damage. I saw the computer screen go red when my heart drugs were changed and asked what it meant. He told me it was due to possible interaction with tamoxifen but that my dose was below the risk level. All the information appeared on the screen. To be fair with complex illnesses and millions of drugs even a great gp couldn't keep on top of it all and as people get older they are more likely to have an assortment of problems. The UK sadly is no longer keeping pace in medicines and care.
427Click to rate
tipratnorm, Cibubur, Indonesia, 3 days ago
Because the NHS is staffed by immigrants.
1516Click to rate
Travel Addict, First Class, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I know my gp surgery does have this. Maybe not for medication but certainly for conditions/illness. I am lactose intolerant so whenever they try and prescribe me something if it contains lactose it flashes on the screen saying it can¿t be prescribed. It surely can¿t be hard to get a system like Spain has if they can already do it with illness etc.
09Click to rate
Zack1, Southend, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
It's a Medication Error to give someone who's fragile a month's worth of dangerous pills. If you ask me...
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Dubito, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Medical mistakes are covered up. Aviation mistakes are fully investigated. Therefore health errors are repeated and aviation learns from its mistakes.
1014Click to rate
ALG, east midlands, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Remind me about the free air travel.Also time healthcare was paid for then?
21Click to rate
Vic, Langdon hills Essex, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
The reason being pilots are not sent to prison for mistakes but doctors are.
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Mervyn, Bristol, 3 days ago
I went into a hospital near Bournemouth the admission nurse started asking me how many glasses/ units of alcohol I had drank the previous day. ¿Units of alcohol: I couldn't believe that anyone in the medical profession would use that term! Alcohol isn't measured in unit or glasses for medical purposes. It¿s measured in the content of alcohol by volume of fluid. That is like asking how many cups of coffee did you drink. I drank five liters cups of weak coffee. How tall was the giant dwarf that you describe?
572Click to rate
2 of 4 repliesSee all replies
Person, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I recently overheard a lady talking about an admission to hospital in the States. 3 day stay was £40.000.
219Click to rate
Tickner, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
And do you think the average Joe on the street would be able to answer by volume? This is why they ask about units. It¿s easier for everyone to understand.
217Click to rate
Charles Parker, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Most of what doctors do is diagnosis and prescribing. AI driven computer programmes can already do that more reliably than humans. The sooner this new technology replaces doctors the better. We will need far fewer doctors in the next few years and many will be redundant.
226Click to rate
Bob Upndown, Freshwater, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I have to say this is not the only problem we have with drug prescriptions, my experience is that you may present with an issue at your GP who in my case prescribed statins and blood pressure tablets. 18 months later I could still be on them as far as the GP was concerned but a month after starting them I purchased my own blood pressure monitor and cut out the tablets. I now have quite normal BP, I was never invited back for any recheck and on visiting the GP on another issue she agreed I no longer need to take them. This must be happening all over so imagine the cost!
325Click to rate
Galahad, Hull, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
While it is clear errors are made the figures given in this article, whoever made them up, are totally unbelievable.
39Click to rate
CT, NC, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
A lot of mistakes come from to few people trying to do to much work, if more people were employed with more specific tasks to do then the system would run smoother and mistakes would be less. Pharmacies are expected to do more now but do not have the staff for this extra work, they get paid by the NHS to carry out various things but expect existing staff to take on these extra jobs, money, they want the extra money but as profit not to employ extra staff. Also, mistakes with pills, we recognise what pills we take but then a new generic arrives, again money saving, is it any wonder there is confusion and mistakes.
236Click to rate
me, here, 3 days ago
Northern Ireland now has a practice based pharmacist within every Gp surgery (not one that works in a shop) for this very reason. To reduce errors, to reduce number of medications patients are on, to ensure timely blood checks are carried out. Unfortunately not all patients want to stop interacting medicines and not all patients turn up for review or blood checks.
118Click to rate
null, 3 days ago
We have a practised based pharmacy at ours but they still gave me and my mother in law wrong prescription, not what was actually written on the script.
01Click to rate
YouknowthatIknow, Bucks, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Could this be why they have had to toughen the English test for overseas doctors and nurses? If so then it looks like the same measure is required for certain care worker groups.
333Click to rate
FiFi4-Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Another derogatory story. All part of the managed decline and eventual sell off. You will all miss having health care when it has gone.
730Click to rate
null, 2 days ago
It fits wonderfully with their anti N HS narrative.
01Click to rate
Aga, Poland is the best, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Hear hear
23Click to rate
joanna9, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
What do you expect when all nurses are working for the price of 3??
1148Click to rate
Aga, Poland is the best, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
And UK we are taking about.No wonder no one care about this country anymore
68Click to rate
Clifton140, Rotherham, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Peeps try this phone app from google play store its called Drugs.com. It will answer all your questons on any prescription medication you're given.
37Click to rate
John, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Peeps? Peeps????
08Click to rate
Julie Squire, Telford, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
you just wonder from just looking at this article does the doctors of today really know what they are doing because it is them that actually prescribes the medication in the first place ..... or maybe they are prescribing the right medication it is the chemist that is giving the wrong ones out even when it is down on paper what ones they need to give to that person
2411Click to rate
Sh, Shrewsbury, 3 days ago
It could be either because humans are involved in the process and all humans make mistakes now and then, being a healthcare professional does not automatically make you infallible you know!
16Click to rate
blind river, Ely, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
We should try to find out if the medical profession causes more harm than good.
1410Click to rate
Tickner, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
If you don¿t like our doctors and nurses in the nhs, maybe you should go private.
017Click to rate
Person, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I despise Hunt. Imagine commissioning a study on a group of massively overworked nurses and doctors saying 'although you stay probably an extra 2 hours every day that you won't get paid for and don't even have time for a wee, you're making mistakes. It's not good enough' Yes I am a nurse and I know things are dangerous, but the cause is a crippled health service run down by a politician who has absolutely no clue about the reality. Bring on private healthcare if you like. I know my working conditions will be better, and I can work more safely......but at a cost of letting people in poverty die. People like him won't care. He'll always be able to afford the life saving drugs.
1248Click to rate
null, 3 days ago
This does not surprise me! I worked in a hospital pharmacy and most of the pharmacists were absolutely useless!!!! The dispensers do most of the work and never get any recognition
1322Click to rate
Man-O-The-North, Anywhere above Watford, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Someone I know was prescribed a drug and had the drug issued at the chemist but his mum checked it before giving it and found it was a completely different one. One that would actually make him ill. She told the chemist and they apologised and reissued. Few days later the pharmacist turned up at their house with an envelope containing £250......
158Click to rate
John, An Island near Europe, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I can totally believe this. I spend over 100 days In hospital last year and have thankfully recovered but on at least 3 occasions I was over medicated or given the wrong strength or dose and once tablets which weren¿t even mine. Thankfully although very ill I was aware enough to know and question it but on some of these occasions on the dose level I actually took them. Most times the nurses were shocked and investigated and each time it wasn¿t an incorrect issue by the nurse but a wrong entry by Junior doctors on my drug card. How many more were spotted before they even got to me! The tablets which weren¿t mine was a nurse error but thankfully were laxatives, so the after effects were short lived. The worst was double pain releif when I should have had my morphine stopped before starting another pain medication and I had 24 hours with both. I was like a zombie..... Putting aside this they all saved my life and to the NHS staff involved, thank you x
418Click to rate
Deadpool, Bristol, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
If this happened in the construction industry they would immediately shut all work sites. Disgraceful.
1019Click to rate
officer crabtree, stevenage, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Flammable tower blocks ring a bell,? No one will go to jail for not building to the regulations. Construction industry is a sad joke....
115Click to rate
Sid Sidhu, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
So who is responsible for this outrage. This is worse than the diesel car debacle where it is claimed old diesel cars are prematurely killing people. Here they are "deliberately" killing people. So no one is sacked or held accountable. Jeremy Hunt still in his job and who within the NHS is responsible. It just seems like people in position are just p##$$$ING up against the NHS wall. We need to make the NHS independent, free from government control and truly accountable. Until that happens things will never get better.
1112Click to rate
Tickner, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
People are human and humans make mistakes from time to time. Putting the nhs into private hands Will not stop those mistakes. It will just mean that some people will profit from the misery of others.
017Click to rate
John, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
We now have this enormous 'blame culture' where any incident, accident or event can be pin-pointed to one person yet no one is actually held responsible and made to pay for their stupidity. Prison sentences are light to the point where criminals just laugh at 'porridge' and within any industry or service - particularly the Civil Service they simply claim 'Lessons have been learned' and close ranks. Nothing else happens. I don't agree with the 'blame culture' and everyone after compensation, but we must all be accountable for our actions.
223Click to rate
Funnyguy99, Melkesham, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
And they still keep asking for more money to fill their pockets. I blame Labour of 13 years.
2018Click to rate
Pandora Box, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Rubbish, it actually improved under Blair. It's the worst it's been since the 80's now.
99Click to rate
Penfy, Dunstable, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I totally agree, over prescribing is rife! I know that GP's prescribe blood pressure tablets and anti-cholesterol drugs 'as a precaution' rather than reading individual test results which are clear!
726Click to rate
Superheartdoctor, Oxbridge, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
You know do you? Why do some people go to the GP with ever single problem in their life and expect medical treatment / a tablet will make it better? I get very elderly frail individuals referred to me complaining of breathlessness - they can't accept it's because they are frail and older.
07Click to rate
null, 3 days ago
58 yrs ago my parents were given medication for me, a baby, they should have given it to me in the evening but I was asleep so didn¿t want to disturb me so gave it in the morning, I very quickly became unwell, I had been prescribed an adult does of the wrong medication. If they had given it to me the night before I wouldn¿t be here now. Shocking this is still happening.
324Click to rate
northernleftie, Birkenhead, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
So fund it properly then!
425Click to rate
Tickner, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Yet another story slamming the nhs. This is part of the DMs campaign to persuade people that the nhs would be better privatised. Clearly in Hunt¿s pocket.
834Click to rate
Pandora Box, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Anyone that uses the NHS knows this.....I got misdiagnosed, wrongly medicated etc., in the 80's and it's not much better now.
712Click to rate
GreatWestern, Truro, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Another problem is that doctors also prescribe a medicine that reacts with another medication that the person is taking. I was recently prescribed a new medication and was getting some really weird symptoms. It was only when I did some homework the internet that I found that the new medication could have really a dodgy allergic reaction with one of my existing prescribed medications.. As the doctors all work on computers these days I cannot see why an automatic warning system can't be built into the software to flag up such possible dangers.
326Click to rate
Sh, Shrewsbury, 3 days ago
There is a warning system built into them, maybe he missed it, everyone can make a mistake
84Click to rate
Superheartdoctor, Oxbridge, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
There is a warning system. Many drugs have legal jargon on the paper work saying caution when used with others, however in actual medical practice are often used together on purpose. All drugs, every single one, have side effects - the assessment is whether the disease or the side effects are worse.
18Click to rate
Dash, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
And of course errors NEVER happen in private medicine. The USA giants just pay people off, that's the only difference.
715Click to rate
katebromleygirl, Bromley, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I was told I have a menopause at the age of 39 and was put on HRT. Wrong diagnosis, felt awful for 2 years. Better now, but still not trusting GPs like I used to. More blood tests would help to diagnose correctly.
210Click to rate
Birdie7, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I think this has happened to me how did you find out it was wrong?
02Click to rate
Vic, Langdon hills Essex, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
NHS bashing by Dailymail as usual. It's an estimate based on Hospital figures with no studies in Community. In a hospital patient is too unwell to question the doctors and will take the wrong drug but in GP surgery patient is likely to question if suddenly he is given new list of drugs without any explanation. Pharmacists do check and query GP prescriptions as well.
1119Click to rate
Robin Nixon, New Romney, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Don't solely trust professionals with managing the health of you and your family. Double check all meds, all advice given, and don't be afraid to ask for a second opinion in serious matters. Always remember that professionals are human too and frequently make mistakes. A worthy, cautionary article.
129Click to rate
lady penelope, london, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Quite correct.
08Click to rate
lady penelope, london, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
This happened to my friend. It nearly cost him his life . A pharmacist friend took one look at what was being prescribed. Said stop taking it. He changed doctors surgery. Hopefully this one might be more responsible. I rarely take drugs for anything. Only as a last resort after extensive research . Sad we have to resort to this. Unacceptable really.
28Click to rate
PaBroon, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
That's not counting the cupboards full unused drugs in many peoples cupboards who no longer use them but continue to have prescriptions filled with them because their requirement has never been changed.
619Click to rate
2 of 3 repliesSee all replies
Superheartdoctor, Oxbridge, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Why don't those people take some responsibility for their own health and the tax payers money - stop ordering them, make an appointment at the surgery (however long they wait for it) and have a drug review.
014Click to rate
Peter, Sutton, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
You are right "PaBroon", & there also some who continue to claim prescription items that they never use because it supports their claim for 'unable to work' benefits.
112Click to rate
oldandbored, Manchester, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
That'll be the Tories fault .......!!
47Click to rate
DM-Troll, n-a, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Legal drugs kill! How many cannabis deaths? Zero
1810Click to rate
pavatory2016, Barnsley, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Weed needs legalising. Tax it get the Police cracking down on harder drugs. Let us grow 4 plants max without fear of been a criminal.
1010Click to rate
pavatory2016, Barnsley, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I once had a pill for an over acting thyroid gland added to my monthly script. The chemist noticed and I returned the script mistakes happen.
null, 3 days ago
Never hear about all the good things they do tho!
821Click to rate
blind river, Ely, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
That's practically all you hear.Their P.R.is great.
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cygcyg07, Nottm, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I know atleast 2 friends and family members that this has happened 2 and caused 2 un necessary deaths! Bed notes amended and a well recuperating patient suddenly dying! Sad and shouldn't be happening. Be on your guard in the hospital.
418Click to rate
Tinytilly, Bristol, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I was informed that we were taking too long to do a drug round in the area where I worked. I defended my thoroughness, by explaining that whilst interacting with each patient, I was obtaining pain scores, when they had their bowels open etc and then recording all the feedback on the drug administration charts and the electronic documentation system. I will not be rushed just to fit in with the demands of other teams. If I make a mistake, it may have a detrimental effect on my patient and I would have to suffer the consequences.
160Click to rate
Superheartdoctor, Oxbridge, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I don't know what's taught at nursing school for 3 years. Possibly too much on ethics etc and not enough to on the basics of pharmacology etc.
1018Click to rate
PassingByToday, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Degree educated nurses who don't know how to dispense.
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jillthepill, Bristol, 2 days ago
They are not trained to dispense so why would they?
01Click to rate
mhc, UK, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I'm afraid the days of 'trust me, I'm a doctor' have long gone. We all have access to the internet now so need to look up our medications and side effects of them and check we're on the right thing!
126Click to rate
Lars Blichfeldt, Copenhagen, Denmark, 3 days ago
So Donald Trump was right about the NHS?
1318Click to rate
bob_001, Leeds, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
No. There are similar problems in the USA, which is why there are so many medical "negligence" claims there. Look at how much doctors have to pay for insurance.
215Click to rate
blind river, Ely, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Because there are similar problems in the USA doesn't make what we are doing right.
38Click to rate
phoebee, Swansea, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
22,000 cases. And the rest!!
413Click to rate
Nick is Amazing, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
We need to put an end to the NHS now. Combined they are killing more than 50,000 a year by mistake. 50,000. That is obscene. If a private hospital killed one it would be national news. End this nightmare.
3515Click to rate
2 of 6 repliesSee all replies
Nick is Amazing, London, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Cancel my 600 a month NI contributions to fund the mistake and i'll happily go private.
66Click to rate
CG, Notts, 2 days ago
Let's see if you still want to go private when you're in a car crash and the NHS scrape you up off the road. Private emergency ambulances? Private A&E? No, but they can operate on your bunions if you like.
29Click to rate
Co-ordinator, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I was once given a prescription form my doctor which I presented at the next-door pharmacy, the pharmacist said she needed to check with the doctor, she phoned the doctor and dispatched one of her assistants next door to the doctors to collect a new prescription. When I was given the medication, I was informed the first prescription may have caused a conflict with another medication!
025Click to rate
tony, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Yet this should easily be checked by computer.
23Click to rate
Dontthinkbeforespeak, london, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Thats normal practice.
10Click to rate
mayday80, Vaud, Switzerland, 3 days ago
DOCTORS DON'T ALWAYS HAVE THE TIME TO TELL PATIENTS HOW TO TAKE PILLS. THEY MAY TELL YOU TO PUT IT UNDER THE TONGUE IN WHICH CASE LEAVE IT THERE FOR 3 MINUTES FOR ABSORPTION. THEY DON'T HAVE TIME TO EXPLAIN SOME DRUGS MUST NOT BE TAKEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH WHILST OTHERS SHOULD BE. WE SHOULD MAKE IT A RULE TO NEVER TAKE ANY PILLS WITHOUT SOME GOOD MOUTHFULS OF NATURAL YOGHOURT TO BE SURE WE AREN'T DOING OUT STOMACHS A LOT OF DAMAGE. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. IF THERE ARE NONE, LOOK THEM UP ONLINE AND GET THEM.
915Click to rate
Lizzie, Leeds, 3 days ago
The Guardian were calling for compulsory vaccinations yesterday!
011Click to rate
willie, northumberland, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
The Guardian is not a newspaper. It is a globalist p r o p a g a n d a sheet!
713Click to rate
rogerz, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Can I have your copy of the Guardian please. I¿ve run out of toilet paper
07Click to rate
ang, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
The demise of the NHS is not just mismanagement but also patient's high expectations now. Also when I worked in the NHS the clerical work was electronically sent to Indian countries for transcription then sent back to UK. The horrendous mistakes that were found in the letters was atrocious. Wrong drugs, wrong dosage. I suspect it still goes on. Thank goodness I got out 7 years ago.
125Click to rate
Uranium235, Wigan, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
There are many poor quality doctors out there now, a lot of them with appalling communication skills. This is what you get when you fail to train and keep your own doctors
737Click to rate
blind river, Ely, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
The reason thousands of people are dying unnecessarily is because we are overworked and under funded!That mind set will do nothing to solve the problem.
828Click to rate
Jerseybird1, St. Helier, Jersey, 3 days ago
Ask anyone who works in any sector how many small mistakes are made in a day just little things, the difference in other jobs is that the mistakes will be easily rectified and will not mean life or death.
034Click to rate
Fat controller., Staines-upon-Thames, 3 days ago
Like not even being able to spell England properly in this article's headline?
08Click to rate
LolaSky, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Pharmacists should be in charge. They¿ve studied medicines. I would trust my pharmacist over my GP.
730Click to rate
Cazoline, My world, 3 days ago
They are all as bad as each other, GPs have prescribed me a different medication to what I actually take but pharmacists have actually gave me the wrong medication on more than one occasion and at different chemists
82Click to rate
sarahandrews, Hemel, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
We're not underfunded. There's too many people here that's all it comes down to.
732Click to rate
willie, northumberland, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
And then there are the much greater number, killed by drugs that were not prescribed in error!
618Click to rate
Dave, Gosport, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Isn't anyone going to question the level of errors. 237 million seems high, it works out ar 5 mistakes per year per person for the entire population of England. It hardly seems credible.
019Click to rate
michael smith, Dunstable, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
My wife had a stroke in August 2016 and since then her monthly prescriptions have been incorrect more often than not.At one stage it started to get us down, and we demanded an appointment with her GP to try and sort it out.He blamed the chemists who of course blamed the GP.I collect them from the chemist and I often hear people in the queue complaining to the chemist that they been given the wrong items.
218Click to rate
oracle18, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I wonder how many of these overdoses were caused by the lethal decimal dot, i.e. 10 or 100 times the correct medication being prescribed because of the problems associated with metrication.
315Click to rate
Veronica Essex, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
The pharmacist knows more. I work for the NHS and the ward pharmacist goes on a round and spot many mistakes on drug charts everyday. They don't have the time to call the Dr everytime but leave a message to correct the error and I've been asked hundreds of times the bleep nr of Dr so and so. The pharmacist knows best.
442Click to rate
Uk101, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
They waited until my wife was ok after a massive overdose of heparin - before telling us!
316Click to rate
NASHY, BROMSGROVE, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Then there are the lives ruined by the blanket prescribing of statins, which appears to be successive government policy. A Code of Silence prevails on this
414Click to rate
sghow1, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Lack of basic knowledge given to patients on discharge from hospitals, contribute this. Patients are getting dumped out of hospitals with very little info on the changes in meds and what their diagnosis was. I deal with patients everyday that come out of hospital and literally can't tell you why they were in, what tests they did and the meds they are now taking
016Click to rate
blind river, Ely, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
A passenger plane crashing every week in the UK.
37Click to rate
Philip, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
And they want to load us up with antidepressants in next doors article
018Click to rate
Cazoline, My world, 3 days ago
I was prescribed the wrong medication by a GP on a repeat prescription then one time the chemist gave me the wrong medication and had to cheek to plan it on me, she said I get too much stuff. Well sorry for having two chronic illnesses
114Click to rate
tony, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
I can believe that mistakes do happen. When in hospital a few years ago I kept note of what medication I was given and when. I moved between wards and had to stop the nurse in the second ward doubling up in the dose given in the ward I had left. Something had gone wrong at the change over. There was then a problem because I was branded as a hypochondriac because I was bothering about what medication I was getting. Patients should be encouraged to be interested in their medication.
236Click to rate
freddierabbit, Neath, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
This happened to me too! Glad to get out of hospital in one piece.
015Click to rate
Jules, Banbury, 3 days ago
Maybe the system is all wrong, it's too complicated. Because this happens in pretty much every care home too. We need another method to be devised, a more accurate one.
27Click to rate
Michael Stewart 70, North London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
The NHS the envy of the world.Please.
1010Click to rate
Frank21, leamington, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Any system will have errors humans make them. The NHS PICS system is excellent. No system is 100% perfect. The USA has the highest rate of medical blunders if you look at the statistics.
58Click to rate
ericjimbob, Tunbridge Wells, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Old Jeremy and the DM blaming the public NHS again. Small but important point, GPS and Pharmacies are all private businesses these days and not under any central direction other than cold cash.
214Click to rate
King Brian, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
And now they want us to shovel antidepressants down our throats
018Click to rate
Brexiter75, Chertsey, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Maybe if they gave these mixed up drugs to those who holiday for free on the NHS, we'd have less queues in A&E.
523Click to rate
Lindsey, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Nasty
97Click to rate
Mrs_Featherstone, Sussex, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Yesterday I saw a news item with a pharmacist sorting pills into dosette boxes with bare hands.
312Click to rate
homegrown49, manchester, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
As I understand it drugs are issued subject to the following rules. One person checks the doctors notes and SIGNS for the required drug and the quantitiy prescribed. A second person then checks the first person's actions and SIGNS again. Do we assume that these actions are not being adhered to, and if not, why not?
117Click to rate
sue1310, Durham, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Most medications don¿t require a second checker
46Click to rate
toby40, lymington, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
@sue dispenser , atc or pharmacist need to check the dispenser work
14Click to rate
Noitall50, Solihull, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Another NHS blunder coming to light. Never had this amount of problems 40 years ago. What's changed ? i'll give you 3 guesses but you'll only need 1.
722Click to rate
2 of 7 repliesSee all replies
toby40, lymington, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
i see we have a kipper wacist
42Click to rate
lucylastic, Leicester, 2 days ago
40 000 nursing vacancies?
03Click to rate
Benal, Truro, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
As a retired Gp Jeremy Hunt should be sacked immediately, oh I forgot, he would refuse to go!!!!
220Click to rate
Middle-earther, Rivendell, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
At least he recognises the faults within the NHS that no amount of extra money will address. He believes in reform and having worked in the NHS myself, and witnessing gross wastage of public funds I am inclined to agree with him.
63Click to rate
happy, norfolk, 3 days ago
and you think we should let the NHS take charge of our organs?
816Click to rate
toby40, lymington, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
when you are brown bread they really of no use or concern !
53Click to rate
thru a glass darkly, Englandland, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Far,far too many people,using a Health system,currently only comfortable with HALF the people,it's being forced to cater for.....But,what do Britain's Politicians care...Us Mugs,fund their Private Health Care,far,far away from the scummy old NHS,the rest of us Mugs are forced to rely upon....And,Comrade Corbyn will usher in,thousands more,to compete with every pain Britons have.....Our Health care system,is doomed to collapse...and SOON....
424Click to rate
Ilovefatherted, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
A young relative of mine was discharged from hospital despite still having the effects of pneumonia. She was given no medication. She should have had warfarin as she had had other problems. She wasn't. Within an hour or so she rang her dad to say she couldn't breathe. Dad rushed over and she was being violently sick. Then she stopped breathing. He tried to resuscitate her but she had gone. It all happened so quick. By the time the ambulance came there was nothing they could do. We never got an apology or admission of wrongdoing.
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2 of 3 repliesSee all replies
toby40, lymington, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
you are not discharged like that. if she was scripted warfarin in the hospital she would have left with four day supply. If she had been scripted in the community she would have had the pills at home. Young and warfarin are not normally used in the same sentence. The ambulance nor the hospital owe you anything.
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Ilovefatherted, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Toby40 such an expert aren't you? She left hospital with nothing. As stated she had other health issues which required these tablets. If you would like to see all her medical notes and reems of solicitor's letters to the hospital feel free to pop to Liverpool..but I suggest you just keep your ill informed opinions to yourself. Ok?
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Lindsey, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Is it any wonder when there are so many cuts and they are short staffed and overworked? This is the result. No mention of the miracles they perform every day saving lives of course
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Orpheus Turning, Duckburg, United States, 3 days ago
22,000 drug- and dosage-related errors per year? You'd get better odds of survival letting William Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson take turns prescribing medications for you at random, or having you reach into a sack blindfolded!
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Ceecee, London, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Who could get mixed up? The drugs come out of a box with the drug name on it
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Noitall50, Solihull, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Unfortunately, most of those administering them now cant speak or read EngIish.
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Nate, London, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Some drugs have very similiar names or identical packaging etc. Working under high pressure mistakes can be made. It happens in every country.
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Billy Sugar, london, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
the buck stops at the top. ?unt has been in post for years and has not addressed this before now. he is only doing it now to divert from the privatisation of the NHS and the brexit shambles. he should resign or be sacked, he like the rest of the tories has no integrity. Mr Cox resigned over merely touching someone, ?unt is responsible for multiple deaths.
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Mem, London, 3 days ago
Maybe it's also time they took away the right from nurse practitioner to change patients medication without consulting the doctor. This has happen to me twice and I was very unwell with what I was given and when I saw the doctor he even ask me why she did this as I was doing well on my old medication, my neighbour recently had the same problem. Why do they think they have the right to interfere with what the GP has prescribe.
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MyOpia, Worthing, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Don't you check what you given then?
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David Mop, London, 3 days ago
This sounds as if it might be bad, but is it? How does the NHS's record of medication mistakes compare with the health systems of other countries?
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Samjoy1, northampton, United Kingdom, 3 days ago
Prescribing advisers sent in by the CCG to save money changed my prescription according to my doctor confusing me and causing me bad reactions. Wasting my time and my doctor's time.
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Mitchell Boys, Mercia, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
We are banning diesel and petrol cars for similar figures. Let's ban medicine too.
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MyOpia, Worthing, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Good idea we can do test on MP's
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oracle18, London, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
How many of these errors are caused by the adoption of metric measures in our hospitals? I have personal experience of this. My own aunt died because of being given a dose of heart medicine 100 times the correct amount. The same experience was nearly suffered by my grandmother, who was given a prescription for 10 times the drug she needed - I spotted the error just in time. This is all due to our dependence on the lethal decimal dot. The slightest error in inserting it to the left or the right of its correct position can cost a life.
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toby40, lymington, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
@ oracle there would be far more errors using grains. Just think that the medical staff of today have been using metrication all their working lives. You would have far more errors reverting to imperial. The cost of repackaging reformulating licensing would be horrendous. The rest of the word manage with metric and IU so I think we just need to be more careful.
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CG, Notts, 2 days ago
My wife is a nurse. She grew up with decimals, why would you want her to start dividing by 12 and multiplying by 16? Decimal weights and measures are so simple. 1kg is what 1 litre of water weighs with a volume of 1,000 cc. Everything is easily converted.
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Xhathx, England, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Also, always read the leaflet. I've been given wrong meds on few occasions. From when my child got ear drops instead if eye drops to when I was given meds not suitable for breastfeeding mothers and wrong dosage. Worst is, pharmacy workers were very unpleasant. Apology would be enough, luckily nothing happened so just apologize and give me correct drugs.
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Fylde22, Blackpool, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Are doctors qualifications checked anymore, or are they taken just on face value
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MyOpia, Worthing, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
are MP's qualifications and standards checked any more by anyone?
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lucylastic, Leicester, 2 days ago
There¿s a lot of checks before doctors can practice. And if a doctor comes from a country where their training is to a lesser standard than ours they do more training and exams.
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Weeyin, Skipton, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
It only takes a receptionist to click yes instead of no by mistake for repeat drugs to automatically be issued
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jennifereckles123, Lincoln, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
A friend of mine works in a pharmacy and has no qualifications or experience. I couldn't believe it when he told me. Pharmacists used to earn anything up to £70,000 a year, probably more, but now many are from other countries, claiming to have the same qualifications, but will do the job for less than half that.
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mrsmou, glos, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
JH is right when he says this is appalling but until there is some redress and accountability for incompetence nothing will change.
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MyOpia, Worthing, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Well, it's not the fault of any NHS Managers, that you can be absolutely certain.
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Arrowman, Torrevieja, Spain, 2 days ago
I listened to a lady, the author of the report I believe on the news this morning who suggested it was not as bad as it appeared as"most"doctors, nurses and pharmacist understood the danger of giving the wrong medication. I would think it is even worse than we think if just one of these professionals does not understand the dangers of giving the wrong medication.
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alibi , Kent, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Maby if the pharmacist wasn¿t under staff because of nhs cut backs and over worked mistakes would be reduced
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Noitall50, Solihull, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Maybe if the NHS stopped throwing it doors open to all, from the four corners of the world, those who've never paid into the system, then there would be Millions more available to treat our own.
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null, 2 days ago
Pharmacies are normally private
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Nate, London, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Also the stress that these workers are under contributes to these errors. Nurses can be working entire 12.5 hour shifts with no breaks and 50% of staff short. They are rushing around all shift working under high stress. People cannot work under such pressure and not make mistakes.
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null, 2 days ago
I partially agree with you- however I've seen doctors sign off many prescription charts with totally unsuitable medication or dosages.
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lucylastic, Leicester, 2 days ago
This is what happens when you have so many vacancies right across the NHS. Perhaps Jeremy Hunt might like to do something to address that? He won¿t though.
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golfer, Liverpool, 2 days ago
You need to take ownership of your own health, check leaflets and also what medication you are on instead of blithely accepting everything you are given. My husband had a blood clot in his leg last year and was prescribed a blood clotting drug by the hospital. He has occasional gout which he takes medication for, (he has had the tablets on standby for the past 6 months). The gout flared up, I made him make a telephone appointment with his GP to discuss the matter and they prescribed a different drug. I admit if you are an elderly person in a care home, or hospital the dispensers must be much more careful.
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Robineff, Hampshire, 2 days ago
...but how many lives are saved by giving the right drugs in the right dose?
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Jetty, London, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
22,000 sounds quite a lot of collateral damage though.
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blind river, Ely, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
It doesn't excuse the deaths of people given the wrong drugs.
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Mordecai McBreenge, Achiltibuie, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I was once given Amitriptyline from a pharmacy, instead of my usual high blood pressure medication, Amlodipine. This could have had terrible consequences, had it been given to someone who was trusting, couldn't read or had some other impairment.
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kylarich, berrynarbor, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
If the truth be known it is the drug companies who actually control the NHS, they will never put patient care before profit. The NHS is their cash cow. Everything that governments have done to centralise, to amalgamate, has done nothing for the patient, but everything for the drug companies. The path must be to return to smaller independent cottage and regional hospitals, which can be controlled by consultants and matrons (remember them) NOT management teams who should be removed from the NHS totally.
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Umm, Wolverhampton, 2 days ago
So very true.
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Clippityclop, timbuctoo, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Too many drug medications handed out full stop. Don't find the root of the problem. Take a pill and GET BACK TO WORK YOU MINION NOW DO AS YOUR TOLD
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Starfish1234, Malvern, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Hunt makes comments on this but he got rid of loads of pharmacies, the ones that are left are overstretched. He needs to rethink his own policies.
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Fredbed, Lancashire, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
My husband was once given sleeping tablets instead of the antibiotics he was prescribed! My brother in law was given painkillers following dental surgery, good job I noticed they were anticonvulsant drugs!
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ukip4ever, luton, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I could write a book on mistakes made by doc's and hospitals.
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meteoric, Wiwaxia Shallows, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Who is prescribing and have largely taken over GPS. Not rocket science.
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ukip4ever, luton, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I know that to my cost, I had a good doc and went to see the locum the NHS had put in while my doc was on hol's. It was one of our visitors and I didn't agree with his diagnosis so the next week I went back to my doc who looked at the notes and couldn't read the writing but he gave a different diagnosis and tablets to clear it up. When my doctor died this locum applied and got his practice so I left there. I know people who still use it and you can get to see him within the hour when you phone because no one wants to see him, the lady doc who works there you cannot get in for at least 2 weeks . I was going to say why haven't the NHS looked into this but I already know it's PC
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C.Thing, down the Rabbid Hole, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Not the finest health care service in the world then, despite the boast.
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Jetty, London, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
He's so caring, about his own career in and out of that revolving door.
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Ilovefatherted, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
..or maybe you can state your 'expert' opinion to her mum, dad and distraught husband? Love to see you spout off to them about it..
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Ilovefatherted, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
That should have gone under my original comment. It's a response to Dr toby40..
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Craigyboy00, Cardiff, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I take Gabapentin. On the box it reads take 6 times daily when in fact it¿s 3 times I should take. It¿s been like this for months but lucky enough I know the dose I need. I told the pharmacist last month and they told me it¿s not their error, they can only print what¿s on the prescription and I need to inform my GP to alter it.
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jillthepill, Bristol, 2 days ago
Maybe you should ask the prescriber to correct their error or is that too much bother for you?
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sabcarrera, Bologna, Italy, 2 days ago
The pharmacist is quite right. He cannot and should not alter a doctor's prescription. He can only give advice.
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blind river, Ely, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
It's time a Ralph Nader had a close look at the medical profession.
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Nurse Gladys, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Only one person to blame Hunt with a c
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2 of 3 repliesSee all replies
Geoff, Wilts, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Yeah because he's the one writing out the wrong prescriptions, and he's the one in the chemist's filling the prescriptions. And when quacks and nurses kill, their Unions stick together like stuff to a blanket and demand 'retraining', just like the Bawa-Garba case. They call it practicing medicine, and it doesn't matter how many of us they kill if they learn from their 'mistakes' and one day get it right. Until then, blame Hunt. Yeah, right.
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sabcarrera, Bologna, Italy, 2 days ago
Labour, not for the many but for the stupid.
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Geoff, Wilts, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
The jewel in the crown.
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trumpeter, Derby, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
It would help if we produced individuals who could actually read and write, and Doctors and Pharmacists who bothered to do their jobs properly instead of whinging about how stressed they are.
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Tashy0291, Never you mind, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I work in a busy trauma intensive care unit as a band 5. We don't go out of our way to make errors, it's human error. Added then the pressure we are under with very few staff members but critically sick patients on ventilators. I NEVER leave work on time and I don't get the extra pay, I get 1 hour break in a 13 hour shift ( two half hours). I get home dehydrated and exhausted. People who slam the NHS and it's nurses/doctors should work just ONE week in a busy hospital and see how you handle it. You'll shut your mouth then, when you can go back to your comfortable job.
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Geoff, Wilts, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Boohoo. Your attitude is the problem... to you, it's just 'human error' and the people being killed or ruined daily by the medical profession should 'shut their mouths' because you're all so very special? You're not. You're being paid a bundle by us to heal us, not kill us.
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M49tan, Farnham, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
The Pharmacies are making money out of drugs and the DOH allow them to. They get paid for prescribed medicine but you have a variety of generic drugs which also have the main ingredient but different fillers etc, so these fillers can cause problems to some patients. Pharmacies buy the cheapest generic drug at the time so they make extra money. If your GP writes down the brand/manufacturers name and this means the pharmacy would have to order it so not making money on it, so very often they refuse to order it in. I think it is very bad that they are allowed to make money out of prescribed drugs as it could be handed back to the NHS to help the financial crisis.It also means you end up with different brands each time
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jillthepill, Bristol, 2 days ago
Software on the prescribers computer automatically changes the prescribed medicine to the generic version. This is in order to save money for the NHS. In order to supply a particular brand of generic the Pharmacy would need to have a direct contract with each generic supplier. This just is not feasible for the amount of time it would take or the paperwork it would generate. The reality is they have a few direct contracts and the rest is supplied by the Pharmaceutical wholesalers who supply what they have in stock on that day. If you want to aportion blame look at who owns the major wholesalers not the private Pharmacy who is trying against all odds to survive.
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Oregano79, West Mids, 2 days ago
No-one has died from vitamins or minerals and other natural remedies....but the medical profession does all it can to ban us from using then. Substances like Vitamin C or Bicarbonate of soda, Oregano or other natural oils and herbs......so many things are being removed from sale.....to protect the drug company profits and prevent people from healing themselves.
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ukip4ever, luton, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
This is so and big pharma have made sure no cure for cancer can be used. These greedy lunatic's have held cures for stopped cures for all sorts of illnesses plus inventing things that spread diseases that sell more of their rubbish to try to cure
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DD, UK, 2 days ago
it is shocking how frequently this happens. BUT it is up to the patient to check they have the drugs they asked for/were prescribed (quick check on box takes seconds). have to admit have a great pharmacy who always questions if I'm given a new drug, checks why I have it (ie what were symptoms) and tells me about any interaction with current drugs - where applicable. calls me into meeting room. on one occasion where there may have been a conflict in drugs he rang GP to check it out. I always check what I receive matches what I asked for. it's so easy for a mistake to be made
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ukip4ever, luton, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Years ago I had a chemist with her own shop who used to be brilliant at checking scrip's . There was a new arrival doctors near her shop and she was always having to phone him to tell him he was giving out the wrong med's . You felt really safe using her shop but she has retired now
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David, Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
About 5 years ago I was prescribed the same drug by two doctors, one a GP, the other a hospital consultant. I opened the packet of pills and read the leaflet provided inside the packet; there was a list of conditions and people who should never take that particular drug. One of the people on the list were radiation workers, or ex-radiation workers; another was, anybody who had cancer. I am an ex-radiation worker. Here is the crunch, NO doctor has ever asked me whether I had worked with radiation; and neither have I been asked by either doctor whether I had cancer. I didn't take the prescribed pills, and referred the problem back to the GP, who could only prescribe the same drug; I've never taken the drug.
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Quack quack, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
We have a responsibility to let your dr know what type of work you do . GP¿s these days are so busy you should make sure your occupation is down on your notes
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David, Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Quack quack: I agree with you. BUT I also believe that prescribing doctors have a duty of care towards the patient that requires the doctor to ASK before prescribing risky drugs. I also believe that my radiation history IS recorded on my medical records. For the doctor to NOT ask suggests that the doctor is unaware of the risks.
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krumpton, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
The NHS kills more people than smoking
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Dadorail, Imagine, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
krumpton - Only really ill people. Perhaps not looking after one's health isn't clever?
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Tim Eforerevolt, No mans land, United States, 2 days ago
22000 killed in hospitals and they are worried about diesel fumes? This should be the headline news.
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ukip4ever, luton, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I was looking after someone who was in intensive care, 4 doctors came round then another 4 until it was 12 doctors every day and each lot added more drugs not even looking if any of the others was giving side effects. When he came out he was on 33 tablets a day so I booked him in the doctors to go through all these tablets. When we came out he was on 3 a day and this was a couple of years ago and no bad effects for dumping 30 tablets.
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Dadorail, Imagine, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Tim - The real scandal is that people get themselves into such a mess that they're taking all sorts of drugs in hospital! Stay healthy is the moral of the tale.
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David, Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Reports such this article sort of underline the understanding that doctors today have largely been reduced to menu driven pill prescribers for big pharma.
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Littlest Me, Rotherham, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I'm sorry, but I find the fact that Jeremy Hunt is effectively saying that pharmacists should not worry about making mistakes extremely worrying.
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Littlest Me, Rotherham, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
To enlarge upon my last comment: of course far more should be done to reduce that stress placed on pharmacy workers, along with all health care professionals - but there is only a small difference between being encouraged to own up to one's mistakes, and passing those mistakes off as 'just one of those things'. Pharmacists I assume have the same kind of professional indemnity as doctors and nurses, so they would not suffer personally from any compensation claims - what should happen is that the companies, in trying to avoid litigation, should be forced to look at the pressure they are putting on their workers, and do something about it.
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Unreasonable Kant, scismsville, Svalbard And Jan Mayen, 2 days ago
I'm sure this figure (22,000) is short by some measure.
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si007, Preston, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
They need to look at WHY the mistakes are happening such as not enough staff on duty, running at full capacity over working staff etc. Mr Hunt apologies for cancelled operations it is positive action we need to get the NHS out of the mess the TORIES have got it into. Over the last year the nursing vacancies have rocketed from 31,634 to 34,260, one in 10 nurses quits every year with 3000 more leaving than joining this is 20% higher than the number who quit in 2012-13. What have the TORIES done less nurses training as they have to pay for the privileged, real terms pay cut, paying more for their pension whilst having to work longer and get LESS on retirement, imposing doctors contracts etc. What a MESS the TORIES have made it was NOT like this when they came into power in 2010. SHAME ON YOU
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Adrian Buchan, Bristol, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Maybe if most of them could read,write, speak and understand English it might help!
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Norton John L, Norwich, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
What is the real total if 22000 are killed by mistakes ? Prescription drugs are probably killing treble that number and that's looking on the conservative side. But of course most won't be proven as they will just go down as just complications.
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hightown, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I was given a list of drugs to take by a Consultant but when I went in to hospital they changed some of the tablets. I made an appointment to see my Doctor to ask her what I should be taking. She has sent two emails to the Consultant but no reply. This has already taken two months and I have even emailed the Consultants Secretary but they cannot reply to be direct and I do not have an appointment with him until next July
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Littlest Me, Rotherham, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Try letting the Hospital know that if it's not dealt with promptly, you will be involving the Health Ombudsman, and follow this up by doing so if necessary. That should get things moving.
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Sue, Ipswich, 2 days ago
Heard Jeremy Hunt on radio four this morning. As usual, he had nothing constructive to say.
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LTHudson, London, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
How is it ok for any organisation to be responsible for the deaths of 22000 deaths a year. People should be in prison for this.
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Spirit of Cromwell, Forgotten Up North, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
The health secretary reported five deaths a day . Blame on some of the recipients overdosing them self¿s. That¿s 1825 not 22000 . Ones too many.
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LW60, Swansea, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
When my late mum was in hospital suffering from urosepsis a nurse who struggled with English misread her chart and stopped her antibiotics 3 days early. When the mistake was spotted there wasn't a member of staff on that surgical ward trained to insert a cannula. I played hell when I visited that evening and insisted something was done - they had to fetch a sister from a neighbouring ward as she was the only one trained to insert the IV cannula. Needless to say my complaint was looked at but the nurse was not reprimanded. The health boards are very good at covering things up.
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Poppy Clarke, inthesticks, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Yet another anti NHS headline and so many fall for it . The report said the number of errors was about the same globally in all health systems Wonder why this wasn't in the headline
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Eric Legge, Ongar, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
That is like saying that the casualty rate in wars is the same globally. If true, to me these enormous figures mean that doctors and nurses worldwide are not adequately trained. What could be more important than giving the correct medications at the correct dosages?
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Poppy Clarke, inthesticks, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
First dosages are not always the same for all patients, second many of the errors are made by pharmacists and third medicine never has and never will be an exact science
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Ceecee, London, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Sorry this was a reply to another thing for some reason it keeps posting as a new comment
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Sucheta Kumari, LONDON, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
A carer who worked in a care home told me that they regularly 'got rid' of people when beds became scare. They were put on the End of Life program without informing the relatives and hence the large number of people dying in care homes. As far as GP/hospitals are concerned, they are controlled by the drug companies who are only interested in profit. Most of these drugs have very negative side effects and further, are designed to be taken forever ie. never curing the underlying problem ie. anti-depressants, anti-anxiety tablets. Anti-biotics are routinely prescribed which eventually stop working. None of the GPs/NHS are interested in finding quick, cheap solutions. If any come to the market, they are removed by one excuse or the other. A treatment for cancer, GcMaf which existed throughout the UK/Europe/USA was removed. This treatment was a 100% cure for cancer, even 4th stage cancer, within around 5 months. But as it was a threat to the drug industry, it was removed.
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eastholme55, knutsford, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Evidence please !!
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Realist, Leeds, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Sucheta, this is what Harold Shipman did. If you have been told this you have to contact the Police immediately and tell them your information. To do nothing makes you complicit in any further acts by this carer. I have flagged up your comment to the Daily Mail, hopefully they will pass it on along with your e-mail address and IP address.
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Beefshank, stoke on trent, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Instead of throwing money at yet another IT system and more computers how about some foot soldiers?? People are needed not computers!!
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PB, Trumpton, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Dear Jeremy C, could the problem be down to chronic understaffing and over work, something that is 'totally preventable'... you could start by employing fewer management consultants and more medical consultants... you could also improve the lives of the medical staff so you stop losing more than you manage to train up to fill the ever increasing list of vacancies
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Realist, Leeds, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
PB, the World Health Organisation have said this is a major problem in healthcare systems round the world. Are they all conically underfunded?
Missthefifties., London, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I believe very few patients read the patient information leaflet and drug interactions. I imagine in many cases the leaflet gets thrown away and the drug taken without basic checks.
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Emma.D, Itchycoo Park, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
It doesn't help if patients are given the wrong medication does it?
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Superflawedgenius, Guildford, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Real issue is unnecessary drugs and vaccines which makes big Pharma rich and kills and maims our kids.
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veteris, Halton, United Kingdom, 1 day ago
Emma.D The tragedy is that the patients don't know they have the wrong medication, we have to trust they have got it right otherwise it is like Russian roulette.
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Patrick Rattigan, Chesterfield, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Per year : 1.4 billion : £1,400,000,000 .. UK prescriptions ... and 22,000 " drug mistake " deaths .. if only ... it was only that amount .
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Lav1965, Sunderland, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I have always found it best to try and avoid drugs of any type if possible
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CynicismCentral, Bridgend, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
I do no trust Doctors... I assume they are on the Big Pharma payroll. Stop kidding yourselves!... them pills you swallow fed Big Pharma! They need addicts...
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Realist, Leeds, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
CC, some of them pills help keep people alive. If transplant patients stopped taking anti rejection pills they would be dead in pretty short order.
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CynicismCentral, Bridgend, United Kingdom, 2 days ago
Almost bred to worship Big Pharma. You Dopes!...
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Mervyn, Bristol, 2 days ago
Units: Is a glass of 1% by volume of Alcohol the same as a Glass of 30% by volume of alcohol? according to the people that measure by units the answer is yes. If you want to be safe, try to stop using the term "units" and try looking at the alcohol content of the twenty pints in metric that you are drinking
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Mervyn, Bristol, 2 days ago
Why do people keep referring to the NHS as Free, it isn't free for the people that pay the national insurance contribution, the employee and the employer. and when its badly mismanaged by allowing non contributers who can afford to pay into the system the taxpayer is told by all political parties we must throw more money at the sick NHS. lets not cure the problem
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chris, London, United Kingdom, 1 day ago
I am freeloader as I have not paid any money, living my life on benefit. So YES, NHS is atleast free for me. By the way, I am born and brought up in London.
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Stuf, Northampton, United Kingdom, 1 day ago
I wonder how many are down to poor English?
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veteris, Halton, United Kingdom, 1 day ago
Ask for an interpreter they seem to be doling out millions on employing them.
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David, UK, United Kingdom, 1 day ago
Pharmacists need not worry too much longer as most of their functions will be automated. As soon as the GP types the prescription on his screen and presses enter, a robotic picker round the back will assemble all the pills, print out pages and pages of health and safety disclaimer warnings and then wait for the credit card before lobbing out a packet by the front door. Next! Indeed they might even replace the GP before long with an app.
613Click to rate
veteris, Halton, United Kingdom, 1 day ago
My surgery consists mostly of locums so how can they assess a patient's needs with a five-second glance at their computer records when you walk in, I don't know them and they haven't clue about me.
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Indian Saint, Chennai, India, 1 day ago
Immigrants doctors booted out of the NHS where as locals medics go scotfree
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non believer, Cardiff, United Kingdom, 1 day ago
These mistakes are being made by highly educated 'clever' people.......
610Click to rate
AGPCUK, Bournemouth, United Kingdom, 1 day ago
High time all repeat prescription drugs were done electronically as too many cases of C Class Drugs not being administered by Chemists due to failure by Doctors to sign the C Class prescriptions. This last act leaves many a patient at risk of seizures in the case of Epilepsy etc.
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Florence, Cotswolds, United Kingdom, 1 day ago
I am a nurse. Note to patients and their relatives, please do not disturb the staff when they are preparing and giving out drugs, I¿ve lost count of how many times I¿ve been giving a patient iv drugs who wants to chat. Please don¿t, we are working and distractions cause errors.
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AmyC93, Kent, United Kingdom, 1 day ago
I work in a hub dealing with around 500 blister pack patients with just three of us dispensing these. At least once a week I catch a GP error. Bear in mind I only have basic knowledge of drugs and their interactions.
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Spindles127, Gloucester, 13 hours ago
The NHS are still dishing out tablets that can cause harm but deliberately, not by mistake.. I was told I would need to take an osteoporosis drug "for the rest of my life" back in 2004 and took it for seven years, had a two year holiday then had to go back on it because, while on the holiday, I fractured my left femur and had a metal rod inserted. I was put back on it for another three years so ten years in total but now the thinking is that you should come off them within 3-5 years. I have just found out that I have a small fracture in my right leg that has been caused by the tablets and called an atypical femur fracture where breaks can happen very easily and now I will probably have to have a rod inserted to stop it getting worse. This is all because the medical profession dishes out tablets like sweets and in spite of plenty of evidence of the harm these drugs can do they shut their eyes and hope they don't cause anyone any problems.
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Brenda Blessed, Plymouth, United Kingdom, 9 hours ago
If you want to know why something isn't working as well as it used to, such as the NHS, justice system, police, schools, universities, councils, BBC, etc., this word provides the answer - feminised.
华媒:英国调查显示开错处方每年致2.2万患者死亡
中新网2月26日电 英国今日华闻网近日刊文称，英国政府委托几所大学进行的调查显示，英国国民医疗服务体系(NHS)开出了数以亿计的错误处方，每年导致多达2.2万人死亡。
文章摘编如下：
调查报告是由曼彻斯特大学、谢菲尔德大学和约克大学的学者联合发布的。报告认为，错误包括未能监测到患者使用药物后的副作用、与病人之间的沟通不畅，以及给病人进行了错误的药物治疗。
在近日的演讲中，英国卫生与社会保健大臣杰里米·亨特(Jeremy Hunt)宣布将推出新的措施，减少错误的发生，提高病人的就诊安全，降低错开处方所造成的损失，这一损失每年高达16亿英镑。
但皇家全科医生学院(RCGP)的专家表示，医生平日的工作量太大，导致了这一情况的出现，“长期解决方案”是确保NHS有充足的资金和人员。
工党影子卫生大臣贾斯汀·曼德斯(Justin Madders)称，近日公布的官方数据显示，英国有10万个未填补的NHS工作岗位，“对患者的安全产生了巨大影响”。
