Illustration of an hourglass with pills in place of the sand, with an alarm clock and cooking timer either side

‘Every minute counts’: taking a national approach to time-critical medicines

Despite various initiatives to tackle the problem, safety incidents linked to the late administration of medicines, or medicines that have been omitted entirely, have remained stubbornly high for decades. A national focus may finally deliver a solution.

“I was covered in my own blood, the operating suite was covered in my own blood, because my arm had managed to free itself from the restraints and was pouring blood everywhere,” said Barrie, a patient describing his experience of going through heart surgery without being given his Parkinson’s disease (PD) medicines, which provoked “erratic and difficult movement”.

Register for free to keep on reading

Access two premium articles as a registered user.

Register

Already an RPS member or registered? Log in

Register for free to keep on reading

Access two premium articles as a registered user.

Register

Already an RPS member or registered? Log in

Register for free to keep on reading

Access two premium articles as a registered user.

Register

Already an RPS member or registered? Log in

Register for free to keep on reading

Access two premium articles as a registered user.

Register

Already an RPS member or registered? Log in

Last updated