Hiqa identifies medication safety concerns at Bantry Hospital

BY JACKIE KEOGH

CONCERNS over medication safety at Bantry General Hospital have been identified during a Hiqa inspection.

A recent Hiqa report confirmed that an announced medication safety inspection, which was carried out on March 21st, resulted in ‘significant concerns’ being expressed in relation to the overall leadership, governance and management of medication safety at Bantry General Hospital.

The report specifies that ‘the design of the medication prescription record did not reduce the risk of duplication and/or interaction with anticoagulant medications, or support standardised prescription practices for prescribers from other hospitals.’

Hiqa found there was ‘a lack of supporting medication management guidelines, or policy, on the prescribing and safe administration of anticoagulant medications and that standardised and segregated storage of high and low-dose pre-mixed heparin was not in place, which did not support clear identification of heparin doses.’

Hiqa also identified as ‘an outstanding issue’, the ongoing lack of a clinical pharmacy service. Hiqa’s concerns related to the storage of anticoagulant medications, which are used in stopping blood from clotting. 

Hiqa confirmed that the hospital had subsequently acted to strengthen medication safety. Among the remedial actions it took was to introduce separate storage facilities and remove anticoagulants stored on drug trolleys. A high-risk labelling system for anticoagulants was also introduced in all clinical areas. 

Hiqa did, however, say there was still scope for further improvement.