MP Visits Neville Hall Hospital to See How Technology is Reducing Medication Errors and Improving Patient Safety
Local MP David Davies has visited Nevill Hall Hospital, to understand more about the key role technology is playing in driving patient safety standards. Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has, in recent years, harnessed and invested in cutting-edge technology to manage medication and hospital supplies administration. The automated systems reduce the risk of errors and free-up healthcare professionals to spend more time on face-to-face patient care.
The visit comes following a medicines management report by the National Assembly for Wales Public Accounts Committee found such automated medication dispensing systems have the potential to optimise medicines management, improve efficiency, maximise resources and improve patient safety 1. Only last week it was reported a new study had found six hospitals in Wales reported 25 incidents where children under 16 were given a tenfold or greater dose of medication in error 2.
At the MP visit, Colin Powell, Chief Pharmacist at Neville Hall Hospital demonstrated the benefit of the Health Board’s decision to invest in a series of Omnicell systems which automate the administration of medication, reducing the risk of human error and freeing up nursing time to spend with patients. This new approach allows Health Boards to track everything back to the patient from the moment the medication is prescribed to when it is administered – ensuring patient safety.
David Davies MP commented: “It is great to see the NHS in Wales working alongside industry to try and give patients a better service of care with the use of modern technology.”
Paul O’Hanlon, Managing Director of Omnicell UK & Ireland, who facilitated the visit commented; “It’s great to see that David is here today to see at first-hand how important it is to invest in new technology. Medicine and nursing is a safety critical industry – behind every statistic is someone’s life, it is always someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s daughter.”
1 Committee, National Assembly for Wales Public Accounts. Medicines Management. 2008.
2 Wales Online. May 2019. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/medication-errors-nhs-wales-children-16310272
