SHPA on med safety
February 14, 2013
MEDICATION safety systems are
fundamental to every organisation's
risk management strategy, which
should be supported by targeted
programs led by pharmacists,
according to the Society of Hospital
Pharmacists of Australia.
The comments follow the release
of the Mid Staffordshire NHS
Foundation Trust Public Inquiry in
the UK, which amongst its findings
highlighted a failure within the
Trust’s hospitals to address
medication safety.
“In the absence of automatic
checking and prompting, the process
of the administration of medication
needs to be overseen by the nurse
in charge of the ward, or his/her
nominated delegate,” the report said.
“A frequent check needs to be
done to ensure that all patients
have received what they have been
prescribed and what they need.
“This is particularly the case when
patients are moved from one ward
to another, or they are returned to
the ward after treatment,” the
report added.
In the wake of the report, SHPA
has urged the Govt to ensure that
medication safety is a priority in
Australian hospitals and that
funding is sufficient to support and
sustain the services required to
ensure patient safety, so that what
is happening in the UK does not
happen in Australia.
“SHPA's position on this is
unequivocal: medication safety is a
fundamental patient right and is
not an optional extra,” SHPA said.
“Every patient has the right to
receive effective medicines in the
safest possible manner,” SHPA added.
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