New defences for pharmacists who make accidental medication errors should be extended to doctors
Post date: 23/02/2018 | Time to read article: 1 minsThe information within this article was correct at the time of publishing. Last updated 14/11/2018
Commenting on the announcement that the Department of Health and Social Care will look at new measures to tackle medication errors, Dr Pallavi Bradshaw, Senior Medicolegal Adviser at the Medical Protection Society, said:
“Medication errors account for a considerable number of complaints, claims and patient safety incidents and the Government’s desire to tackle the issue is welcomed.
“It is important to note however that many errors are down to human error rather than a lack of knowledge; for example accidently prescribing the wrong medication, administering an incorrect dose, an oversight regarding allergies or a mix up in patients.
“These unfortunate and unintended mistakes occur at various points in the process and involve different healthcare professionals.
"The move to bring in new defences for pharmacists who make accidental medication errors, rather than prosecuting them for genuine mistakes, is a step in the right direction. But to bring about a real shift towards a culture of openness, learning and improvement from system wide mistakes, these defences would need to be extended to doctors and other healthcare professionals. There has never been a more important time to debate this issue, and we are pleased work is underway."
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About MPS:
The Medical Protection Society (“MPS”) is the world’s leading protection organisation for doctors, dentists and healthcare professionals. We protect and support the professional interests of more than 300,000 members around the world. Membership provides access to expert advice and support together with the right to request indemnity for complaints or claims arising from professional practice.
Our philosophy is to support safe practice in medicine and dentistry by helping to avert problems in the first place. We do this by promoting risk management through our workshops, E-learning, clinical risk assessments, publications, conferences, lectures and presentations. MPS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MPS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.
