News
HDA UK Media And Political Bulletin – 2 February 2017
Media Summary
Revealed: the most common dispensing errors of last 3 months
Chemist and Druggist, Annabelle Collins, 1 February 2017
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has documented the most common dispensing errors in the last three months of 2016. NPA chief pharmacist Leyla Hannbeck said in a letter to NPA members that there had been a ‘significant increase’ in the number of errors recently. Delivery issues, errors with controlled drugs and mismatching patients and medicines were among the most common errors. A small number of ‘unusual’ errors by pharmacists were also identified in relation to supplies. The full report can be read here, along with the letter by NPA chief pharmacist Leyla Hannbeck.
Parliamentary Coverage
House of Commons, Oral Answers, Prime Minister’s Office
Answered on 1 February 2017
Pharmaceuticals
Jo Churchill (Bury St Edmunds) (MP, Con):
This week the Danish drug firm Novo Nordisk invested £115 million in the UK to further research into type 2 diabetes. Will the Prime Minister join me in welcoming that investment as well as the academics and scientists involved, many of whom are from the EU and around the world and will appreciate the assurance she gave earlier? Will she also work with me to ensure that any innovations and new treatments get to patients as quickly as possible?
The Prime Minister:
As my hon. Friend will probably understand, I recognise this issue particularly personally, although I am a type 1 diabetic rather than type 2. Any investment in diabetes research is to be welcomed, and when new solutions and support for diabetics are found, it is important that they get to people as quickly as possible. A significant number of people in this country suffer from type 2 diabetes, and the figures show that there is a great risk that the number will increase significantly in the coming years. We need to do all that we can not only to prevent people from becoming type 2 diabetics in the first place, but to support those who have that condition so that people suffer from fewer complications and are able to manage their lives.
