Morphine dispensing error

[Nik]

Grandfather dies after GP surgery hands over morphine pills SIX times stronger than the normal dosage | Mail Online

(It was either the Daily Mail or The Mirror)

[Racer]

Not surprised as its a Dispensing Doctor.

[johnep]

Oh that's all right then. No censure as would be if pharmacist, who would now be facing manslaughter charge.
johnep

[hibernia]

The same or similiar mistakes have also happened in pharmacies and hospitals but there is NO excuse for CDs being supplied by dispensers in any setting.

[Nik]

The till's fail-safe barcode system - which is designed to pick up prescription mistakes - did not work and failed to alert staff it was the wrong medication.

No longer a fail-safe system now.

She said she believed it was the right drug because no 'error message' came up when she ran the barcode through the till.

And no substitute for actually looking at what you pick up, rather than relying on a computer to ensure it is correct.

[Tony Schofield]

Don't gloat. I know quite a few pharmacists, including myself, involved in CD errors. In one case it resulted in a death and the pharmacist in question, a friend of mine was severely traumatised by the incident. I'm not saying the family of the deceased weren't also traumatised but there is always more than one victim in these incidents.

[Nik]

Didn't intend to come across as gloating Tony, just pointing out the heavy reliance on their computer system being correct.

[LeftArm]

The inquest was told the drugs were not checked by a second member of staff and mistake was not spotted when it was ran through the till.

I agree with Nik. There is an increasing reliance on computer systems but the actual problem here is the lack of a second accuracy check.
It's rubbish Daily Mail news anyway as the cause of death was not morphine overdose but natural causes.

[mrmeds]

they also mention the word 'pharmacy'' and at n point mention whether its a dispensing doc or in house pharmacy- Do we know for sure its a dispensing doc, ( they could have just demoted the pharmacist !!!). Obviously its lazy inaccurate reporting.

[Web Ferret]

Oh that's all right then. No censure as would be if pharmacist, who would now be facing manslaughter charge.
johnep

Correct