The National Patient Safety Agency (NSPCA) reported in 2009 that incidents involving the incorrect dispensation of medication had seen a year-on-year increase.

Similarly, a 2010 report issued by the School of Pharmacy, University of London, found that over 10% of prescriptions issued by hospital paediatricians in five London hospitals contained errors.

Medication errors

Wherever the dispensation of medication takes place – in hospitals, in independent pharmacies, at GP surgeries themselves, or in care homes – there is room for human error and, in some cases, even institutionalised carelessness.

Errors can include prescribing the incorrect amount or even dispensing the wrong medication entirely.

Common errors in prescribing medication

• Repeat prescriptions being given for some time without review by a GP;
• Incorrect dosage prescribed, resulting in overdose or under-medication for a condition;
• Prescribing medication to a patient who has been diagnosed as having an allergy to an ingredient in that medication;
• Prescribing medication that is known to contraindicate with a medication the patient is already taking;

Common errors in dispensing medication

• The right medication placed in the wrong bag and issued to the wrong patient
• Incorrect labelling
• Incorrect dosage dispensed by pharmacist

Consequences of a patient taking incorrect medication

While most errors are spotted by the healthcare professional involved, or even the patient themselves, all too often these errors aren’t spotted for a prolonged period of time. The result can be that the patient consumes medication that can prove detrimental to their health, can leave them without the medication they actually need, or can cause a potent build-up of chemicals in in the patient’s bloodstream when mixed with their other medication.

Symptoms

Depending on the medication issued and the patient’s pre-existing health condition, symptoms can range from temporary sickness and dizziness to hospitalisation, further medication and treatment, and, in worst case scenarios, organ transplants and even fatality.

Proving your case

If you feel that you have good reason to claim for medical negligence on the grounds of having been prescribed or issued the wrong medication, you must be able to establish two key points:

1. Someone was negligent in either prescribing or dispensing correct medication, demonstrating a lack of care that could reasonably be expected of them, given their expertise (e.g. a GP fails to notice that the ingredients of a patients medication contraindicate medication they’re already taking, or a pharmacist fails to notice that a prescribed medication is unsuitable for the patient’s condition);
2. You have suffered an adverse reaction and suffered illness or injury as a direct result of consuming the wrongly-prescribed or issued medication.

Making a claim for medical negligence compensation

If you have been prescribed or issued with the incorrect medication, it is vital that you keep any original packaging that the medication was given to you in, including dosage direction/ingredient sheets, which will all help to support your case, should you wish to make a claim.

There is a time limit on how long you can leave it between discovering the blunder and reporting it to a legal professional, so if you wish to make a claim, you must do so as quickly as possible.