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Showing results for tags 'Medication'.
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Community Post
'Drug scandal that damaged 20,000 babies'
Patient Safety Learning posted a topic in Adverse interactions
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An investigation by The Sunday Times has found that the drug sodium valproate is still being handed out to women in plain packets with the information leaflets missing, or with stickers over the warnings. Sodium valproate, has been given to women with epilepsy for decades without proper warnings, and has caused autism, learning difficulties and physical deformities in up to 20,000 babies in Britain. The government is refusing to offer any compensation to those affected by sodium valproate, despite an independent review by Baroness Cumberlege concluding in 2020 that families should be given financial redress. Read the Twitter thread from Rebecca Bromley who has been working with families who have suffered:- Posted
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Community PostThe new Health and Care Bill gives NHS Digital powers to create a new ‘medicine registry’ The bill, published earlier this month, will allow NHS Digital to collect a range of information about the use of medicines and their effects in the UK and hold this data in one or more information system(s). The MHRA would be able to then use the information held in an information system to establish and maintain comprehensive UK-wide medicines registries. “This would improve post-market surveillance on the use [of] medicines. For example, where a safety issue has led to the introduction of measures to minimise risk to patients, registries would facilitate the early identification and investigation of potential noncompliance so that additional action can be taken by regulators in conjunction with health service providers at a national, local, or individual patient level.” The notes added the power is “restricted to purposes relating to the safety, quality and efficacy of human medicines and the improvement of clinical decision-making in relation to human medicines”. Anybody who inappropriately shares NHS data collected for the new registry could face a fine and a prison sentence. What does this mean for patient safety? What impact will this has on the NHS and for private providers? @Helena Gregory. @Kathryn Howard, @Kristen, @Alison Smith, @Phaeds, @CYC, @Dakota, @Steve Turner
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Content ArticlePeople rely on prescription medication to treat and manage their conditions and keep well. Based on analysis of public feedback from local Healthwatch and from a webform on pharmacies, this blog by Healthwatch England highlights the challenges people face when trying to get prescription medication. It outlines the following key issues: Shortages of medication Delays in getting repeat prescriptions issued Shortages of staff Closed pharmacies
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Content Article
Patient Safety Commissioner initiatives
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in England
Patients need to be involved in all aspects of the design and delivery of healthcare and to make quality improvements that prevent harm. The Patient Safety Commissioner website shows examples of where working in partnership with patients and families, listening to patients’ voice and acting upon their concerns have made positive changes. -
Content Article
People with Parkinson’s need their medication on time every time. Yet over half of people with the condition don’t get their medications on time in hospital. This can cause stress, anxiety, immobility, severe tremors, and in some extreme cases death. Parkinson's UK are campaigning to make sure that no one with Parkinson’s is worried that they will leave hospital more unwell than when they went in. Whether you have Parkinson’s, support someone who does, work in the health and care system or campaign to improve it, you can take action to make hospitals and care homes safer. Together we can get more people to understand how big this problem is. And we can put pressure on the right people, across the UK, to change hospital policies, improve prescribing in hospitals and make sure staff are trained to give time critical medication. -
Content ArticleIn this podcast episode, Rosie, Sean, Carlton, and Emily share their experiences with Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD), a condition where individuals face persistent sexual side effects and other side effects after taking or discontinuing certain antidepressants. Throughout the conversation, they emphasise the need for increased awareness and research on PSSD, sharing personal stories to shed light on this often-overlooked condition. Despite the challenges they face, they remain determined to advocate for recognition and support for those suffering from PSSD.
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Content ArticleSexual dysfunction is a common side effect of Serotonergic antidepressants (SA) treatment, and persists in some patients despite drug discontinuation, a condition termed post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD). The risk for PSSD is unknown but is thought to be rare and difficult to assess. This study, published in the Annals of general psychiatry, aims to estimate the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) and PSSD in males treated with SAs.
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Content ArticleA set of enduring conditions have been reported in the literature involving persistent sexual dysfunction after discontinuation of serotonin reuptake inhibiting antidepressants, 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors and isotretinoin. The objective of this study, published by the International Journal of Safety and Risk in Medicine, was to develop diagnostic criteria for post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD), persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) following serotonin reuptake inhibitors, post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) and post-retinoid sexual dysfunction (PRSD).
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Content Article
This opinion piece is by Luke* who suffers from post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) after he was prescribed a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. Luke introduces the condition, drawing on the experiences that others have shared through PSSD communities, to highlight the devastating impact on patients. He calls for widespread recognition, improved risk communication and better support for sufferers. *Name has been changed- Posted
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Content ArticleThis is the first in a series of podcasts NHS England has produced to mark World Patient Safety Day 2023, and celebrate its theme of ‘engaging patients for patient safety’. The series features some of the Patient Safety Partners that work with the National Patient Safety Team, who play a vital role in providing a patient’s perspective to support our work to improve patient safety. In this podcast, Graham, who became a patient safety partner in 2020, shares his insights on the benefits of involving patients and why he feels it is so important in supporting the NHS to improve patient safety, and talks about his experience as a patient safety partner, particularly working to co-design elements of the medical examiner and medicines safety improvement programmes.
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Content ArticleThe Patient Safety Network (PSNet) produces primers which provide guidance on key topics in patient safety through context, epidemiology and relevant PSNet content. This primer focuses on nurse-related medication administration errors and highlights that despite error reduction efforts through implementing new technologies and streamlining processes, medication administration errors remain prevalent. It covers the background to the issue, low-tech and high-tech prevention strategies and the current context.
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Content ArticleHealthcare professionals prescribing fluoroquinolone antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, delafloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, ofloxacin) are reminded to be alert to the risk of disabling and potentially long-lasting or irreversible side effects. Do not prescribe fluoroquinolones for non-severe or self-limiting infections, or for mild to moderate infections (such as in acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) unless other antibiotics that are commonly recommended for these infections are considered inappropriate. Fluoroquinolone treatment should be discontinued at the first signs of a serious adverse reaction, including tendon pain or inflammation.
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Content ArticleThis review from Davis et al. summarises the biology and consequences of menopause, the role of supportive care, and the menopause-specific therapeutic options available to women.
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Content ArticleThis debate was requested by Barbara Keeley MP of Worsley and Eccles South, following the death of Emily Chesterton, the daughter of her constituents Marion and Brendan Chesterton. Emily died in November 2022 after suffering a pulmonary embolism. She was just 30 years old when she died. The conclusion of the coroner was: “Emily Chesterton died from a pulmonary embolism, a natural cause of death. She attended her general practitioner surgery on the mornings of 31 October and 7 November 2022 with calf pain and shortness of breath, and was seen by the same physician associate on both occasions. She should have been immediately referred to a hospital emergency unit. If she had been on either occasion, the likelihood is that she would have been treated for pulmonary embolism and would have survived.”
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Content Article
With addiction treatment programs, ensuring the safety of patients undergoing recovery is paramount. However, addressing medication safety within these programs can be a complex endeavour. As addiction treatment evolves to meet the needs of individuals on their path to recovery, it's crucial to adopt strategies that prioritise both the efficacy and safety of medications. In this blog, Dr Alexandre Kirk, Medical Director at Bright Futures Treatment Center in Florida, examines the various facets of medication safety challenges in addiction treatment programs and explores practical solutions to overcome them. -
Content ArticlePeri-operative medication safety is complex. Avoidance of medication errors is both system- and practitioner-based, and many departments within the hospital contribute to safe and effective systems. For the individual anaesthetist, drawing up, labelling and then the correct administration of medications are key components in a patient's peri-operative journey. These guidelines from the Association of Anaesthetists aim to provide pragmatic safety steps for the practitioner and other individuals within the operative environment, as well as short- to long-term goals for development of a collaborative approach to reducing errors.
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Content ArticleThis YouTube playlist containing 12 short vlogs (each lasting 10 minutes or less) is a cut-down version of Continuing Professional Development work commissioned by the NHS in England. These are part of our patient led clinical education work and involved working with patients, carers, and relatives as equals to produce the videos. These vlogs are based on the (UK) Royal Pharmaceutical Society Competency Framework for all Prescribers, and related guidelines from professional bodies in the UK. They are designed for clinicians (across all disciplines and specialities), patients, carers, parents, relatives and the public. The short videos focus on providing refresher information, updates on hot topics and materials that can be used for reflection both individually and within clinical teams. They cover: Shared decision making Information mastery Interpretation of numerical data Root causes on medicines and prescribing errors Taking a history Basic pharmacology Risk areas and red flags Ethics, the law and prescribing Deprescribing Remote prescribing Prescribing for frailty and multimorbidity Prescription writing and safe prescribing The original materials were accompanied by live sessions, questions for reflection (some of which are included here), separate refresher questions, detailed prescribing scenarios, and competency assessments.
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Content ArticleCoroners, who hold inquests to determine the causes of unnatural deaths in England and Wales, having recognised factors that could cause other deaths, are legally obliged to signal concerns by sending ‘Reports to Prevent Future Deaths’ (PFDs) to interested persons. This systematic review in Pharmaceutical Medicine aimed to establish whether Coroners’ concerns about medications are widely recognised. The authors found that PFDs related to medicines are not widely referred to in medical journals or UK national newspapers. By contrast, the Australian and New Zealand National Coronial Information System has contributed cases to 206 publications cited in PubMed, of which 139 are related to medicines. The research suggests that information from English and Welsh Coroners’ PFDs is under-recognised, even though it should inform public health. The results of inquiries by Coroners and medical examiners worldwide into potentially preventable deaths involving medicines should be used to strengthen the safety of medicines.
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Content ArticleExtravasation injuries occur when some intravenous drugs leak outside the vein into the surrounding tissue which can damage the tissue and cause serious harm to the patient. This is a survey for healthcare professionals on approaches to extravasation management outside of cancer care. It is part of a campaign led by the National Infusion and Vascular Access Society (NIVAS) to improve awareness of infiltration and extravasation to reduce avoidable harm.
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Content ArticleThe Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio aims to use digital technologies to make prescribing, dispensing and administering medicines everywhere in Wales, easier, safer and more efficient for patients and professionals. It brings together the programmes and projects that will deliver a fully digital prescribing approach in all care settings in Wales. This video outlines the different elements of the portfolio that will be introduced across primary and secondary care, including the Shared Medicines Record, which will store information about a patient's medications all in one place.
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Content ArticleA patient advocate is someone who, with the patient’s consent, supports that person in their interactions with healthcare providers. This support can be provided during visits to a doctor's office, on a trip to the pharmacy, during a hospital stay, or when a nurse comes to visit in the home. An advocate can be a family member or friend, or it might be someone outside the patient's circle who offers or agrees to take on this role. An advocate can help in a variety of ways, including sharing information as needed and helping the patient understand and remember details from the visit. Having an advocate present, especially for individuals who find it hard to speak for themselves, can help prevent medication errors.
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Content ArticleFollowing an extensive process of internal and external engagement, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has published their corporate plan for the next 3 years. Their priorities are: Maintain public trust through transparency and proactive communication Enable healthcare access to safe and effective medical products Deliver scientific and regulatory excellence through strategic partnerships Become an agency where people flourish alongside a responsive customer service culture.
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Content ArticleUS endocrinologist Richard Plotzker shares a recent experience of buying over-the-counter medication from a grocery store. When he opened the outer packaging, the blister packs were empty apart from one pill in each being resealed by scotch tape. Richard called the manufacturer and returned the medication for investigation. He describes how the incident highlights the need to be vigilant about any unusual appearance in the packaging of medication.
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Content ArticleVideo of the 10th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit presentations. The event fostered a high-level exchange of ideas and initiatives to improve global patient safety with expert speakers and panelists, inspiring messages from hospital executives, and the sharing of tragic patient stories. The programme ignited further momentum to reach ZERO harm. You can view all the speaker presentations by clicking on the image below. There is also a link to the Patient Safety Movement Foundation website with all the presentations at the end of the page.
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Content ArticleMaking data on medical interventions easier to collect and collate would increase the odds of spotting patterns of harm, according to the panel of a recent HSJ webinar. When Baroness Julia Cumberlege was asked to review the avoidable harm caused by two medicines and one medical device, she encountered no shortage of data. “We found that the NHS is awash with data, but it’s very fractured,” says Baroness Cumberlege, who chaired the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review and now co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group which raises awareness of and support for its findings. It was a challenge on which Professor Sir Terence Stephenson had cause to deeply reflect back in 2014. That was the year in which he was asked to chair an independent review of medical devices, following concerns about the safety of metal-on-metal hip replacements and PIP silicone breast implants. “The NHS stepped up to the plate really quickly and said: ‘Even if it’s a private hospital that put this in, we will take it out to protect your safety,’” recalled Sir Terence, now Nuffield professor of child health at Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and chair of the Health Research Authority for England. “But the big problem was they couldn’t identify who had which implants. No doubt somebody somewhere had written this down with a fountain pen and then someone spilt the tea over it and the unique information was lost.”
