DRUG BLUNDERS COST NHS £75M

DRUGS mix-ups cost the NHS £75million in five years after blunders affecting 800 patients.

In 102 cases the patient died. Some were given the wrong drug or wrong dose. Others fell ill because drugs taken orally were injected. A

Lincolnshire patient died after being given 10 times too much medication.

And a woman died at Wycombe Hospital after taking being given someone else’s pills. Errors on children’s wards were logged 23 times, while 61 payouts related to casualty and A&E. Compensation hit £42.3million, with legal ALARM Charity’s Peter Walsh fees of £32.2million. Peter Walsh, from the charity Action against Medical Accidents, said: “Medication errors result in untold misery and avoidable deaths.”

The NHS said: “Incidents are, thankfully, rare. When they happen, hospitals investigate, learn and minimise risks.”