Hospital drug ‘errors affect one-in-20 patients’

DRUG errors have been identified in one in every 20 patients in a major acute hospital in Dublin.

A medication safety report showed 522 medication safety incidents were documented at Tallaght Hospital in Dublin during the first six months of last year — an average of 87 a month.

It found 8% of the errors, where a patient received the wrong type of medication, had the potential to cause temporary harm to them while 1% could have resulted in death or serious harm to the patient.