Alerts | ||
Alert 19. Promoting safer measurement and | To avoid oral medicines/feeds being given intravenously, all oral liquid medicines should now be administered via | |
administration of liquid medicines via oral and | an oral/enteral syringe. The sales of oral syringes in the NHS have increased dramatically. Manufacturers of tube | |
other enteral routes | feeding equipment are in the process of changing the connections in nasogastric feeding systems and have indicated that they will be in compliance by April 2008. | |
Alert 20. Safer use of injectable medicines | NHS trusts have until the end of March 2008 to complete a risk assessment of injectable medicines and introduce initiatives to better manage those risks. This will include implementing multidisciplinary standards and procedures for the preparation and administration of injectable medicines, training, better technical information in clinical areas, and greater use of ready-to-use and ready-to-administer injectable medicines. It is unlikely that all the risk reduction initiatives will be introduced before mid-2008. | |
Alert 21. Minimising the risks of | NPSA initiative to prevent serious hyponatraemia in children. The recommended actions include removal of 0.18% | |
hyponatraemia | saline with 4% dextrose from all but specialist areas. Comments to the NPSA indicate that NHS trusts have withdrawn the routine use of hypotonic infusion solution in general paediatric areas. | |
Rapid Response Reports* | ||
RRR1 (June 2007) | Risk of confusion between cytarabine and liposomal cytarabine (Depocyte) | |
RRR2 (September 2007) | Risk of confusion between non-lipid and lipid formulations of injectable amphotericin | |
RRR 4 (November 2007) | Fire hazard with paraffin based skin products on dressings and clothing |
*In June 2007 the NPSA started to issue Rapid Response Reports – some reports have addressed risks for both adults and children.
NHS, National Health Service; NPSA, National Patient Safety Agency; RRR, Rapid Response Report.