I refer to your report dated March 24 headlined, 'Child overdoses blamed on hospital staff'.
My title is the President of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Hong Kong and not the Society of Hospital Pharmacy Workers. And since the report only focused on a small facet of the problem of medication error, I would like to supplement your readers on this important issue.
Since a wrong medication was given to two babies in the Prince of Wales Hospital in 1991, health care workers such as pharmacists, dispensers, doctors and nurses have been concerned about the safety of the medication process in hospitals.
Both private and public hospitals have become more alert to the potential problem and tried to do something about it.
The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Hong Kong has organised seminars and workshops and even invited overseas experts to talk to local practitioners on the subject.
Likewise, the Hospital Authority has set up a special working group to examine the overall procedures of medication practices in public hospitals. A Medication Incidents Reporting Programme (MIRP) has been started to collect statistics and examine the nature of medication errors occurring in hospitals. While there have not been any official figures on medication error before, quarterly figures are now available since the commencement of the MIRP in 1994.