Medical conditions often require prescription medications which either alleviate, treat or prevent illness. Medication can be prescribed through your GP surgery and dispensed by your local pharmacy. This can either be an NHS prescription or private prescription. As an inpatient in hospital, your medication will be prescribed by your treating doctors and overseen by hospital pharmacists. Your dentist can also prescribe medication.

Nearly all medication can cause side effects, and the risks and benefits of medication should be considered before taking. Your doctor and/or pharmacist will ensure the correct dosage and that the medicine will not interact (cause a change in the way the drug acts in the body) with any other medications you’re taking. They will also consider any existing health conditions and whether the medication is suitable. If you’re undergoing an operation, it’s often important that the anaesthetist and surgeon have confirmation of regular medication you’re taking.

Investigating prescription errors

In rare cases, there can be prescription errors and this can have serious consequences. Or there can failures to prescribe a medication which can have equally serious consequences. In these cases, it may be appropriate to speak to the professional who prescribed the medication and/or lodge a formal complaint with this professional or their organisation (GP practice, dental practice, hospital). A serious prescribing error within an NHS organisation resulting in either a serious injury or death would ordinarily trigger an internal investigation under their Significant Adverse Events Review polices.

If you or a family member experience a serious adverse side effect, particularly something not described in the patient information leaflet, it’s recommended you use the yellow card system.  This can be filled in on online or sent via post and is a system established to make medicines safer. In come cases, the drug manufacturer will be contacted and in certain cases that particular drug can be taken off the market.