Rising Concerns Over Medication Safety In Public Health Services.

Newly released figures show that hundreds of patients experienced harm due to medication related incidents within public health services over the past year.

Out of the reported cases, 738 patients were affected. The vast majority; 732 incidents, resulted in minor to moderate harm, while six cases were classified as causing severe harm.

In total, approximately 10,400 medication related incidents and near misses were recorded. Of these, more than 7,150 incidents reached patients, but caused no harm or only negligible effects. Meanwhile, over 2,540 incidents were classified as near misses, meaning they were identified before affecting any patient.

Medication incidents are defined as preventable events that may lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm, while under the supervision of healthcare professionals.

Data from state claims records indicates that the most frequent type of incident involved missed or delayed doses of medication.
Public health services handle a significant volume of care annually, including around two million inpatient and day-case treatments, along with a similar number of emergency department visits.

Efforts are ongoing to improve patient safety, with medication-related harm identified as a key focus area. Safety improvements are being implemented at local, regional, and national levels to reduce risks associated with medication use.
A new performance measure introduced this year focuses on polypharmacy. This tracks the percentage of individuals aged 65 and older who are prescribed ten or more regular medications, as this group is considered at higher risk of receiving potentially inappropriate treatments.

Additionally, hospital inspections are carried out to monitor and enhance medication safety practices across healthcare settings.