Drug danger in care homes sparks calls for community pharmacies
More than 100 residents in old-age homes given wrong medicine since 2009, triggering calls to bring in pharmacy system to keep patients safe
Elderly people in care homes are at risk of being given the wrong medication and incorrect doses.
The has learnt that 118 mistakes in the dispensing of drugs were reported at the city's old-age homes from 2009 to the end of 2012 - 70 per cent involved errors in dosage, labelling and distribution to the wrong people.
The mistakes led to prosecutions against six homes, according to the Social and Welfare Department.
The figures sparked renewed calls for more community pharmacies, a standard system in many countries, which helps reduce the risk of patients being given the wrong drugs.
Labour Party lawmaker Peter Cheung Kwok-che, who represents the social welfare constituency, said: "It appears that medication incidents are underreported, especially in private old-age homes, because many health workers are unskilled and illiterate. Since there are no labels on the drug cup that patients are given, the chances of administering the wrong medicine is high."
Cheung accused the government of failing to monitor the safe use of medicines in old-age homes even though guidelines on medication management are in place. He urged the government to adopt a community pharmacy system to provide a centralised dispensing service in old-age homes.
