Medication Without Harm
237,000,0001
medication errors each year in the UK
£100,000,0002
cost of medication errors to the NHS 2015-2020
1:123
posts are currently vacant in the NHS
This year on Saturday 17th September is World Patient Safety Day. The Day brings together patients, families, caregivers, communities, health workers, healthcare leaders and policy-makers to show their commitment to patient safety. This years focus is “medication without harm”.
Launched in 2017,“medication without harm” called on stakeholders to prioritise and take action in key areas associated with significant patient harm due to unsafe medication practices, with the aim of reducing severe avoidable medication-related harm by 50% by 2022. However, since 2017 UK financial claims of medication errors have been increasing.4
Medication errors in the UK
A staggering 237 million medication errors occur in the United Kingdom each year and most tragically is the 1,700 deaths associated with them (1).
From 2015 to 2020, NHS Resolution has calculated that medication errors have cost the NHS over £100 million (2).
Healthcare systems are investing in technology to reduce medication errors; yet to-date we have only seen a decrease of 7% industrywide (4).
According to industry experts, the problem lies in the gaps between isolated systems and processes, with the average hospital having 16 different informatics systems (5). Interoperability of digital systems has become more important than ever.
The NHS employs c.1.2 million people, and at present 1:12 posts are vacant (3) . Automation and interoperability has the potential to ease the burden on staff who are already struggling with workloads.
BD have changed their approach to medication management to enable greater interoperability with their own existing systems and 3rd party providers such as Electronic Health Records and e-prescribing businesses.
Our technologies have in-built automation which can highlight and prevent healthcare workers from making human errors. The technologies also record, and track data so continual improvements can be made.
Lisa’s Story
Hear from Lisa, whose partner was tragically taken far too soon as a result of a medication error. Lisa now campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of medication errors.
BD’s solutions
A brief explanation of how BD’s solution can manage the safe and efficient flow of medicines from pharmacy to patient administration.
Read our report on the reduction of medication errors
Register your details to receive a copy of our report Reduction of Medication Errors: Research with Chief Hospital Pharmacists in the U.K. This useful report from February 2022 looks at how and why medication errors happen in UK hospitals.
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