NHS hospitals’ poor communication ‘jeopardising patients’

A lack of communication between NHS centres regarding the drugs prescribed to patients is putting people’s health at risk.

This is according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which conducted research that shows hospitals often fail to pass on patients’ full medical details to other foundations – something the CQC argues could result in the incorrect prescribing of drugs.

The report states that although nearly all surgeries provided medicines information to hospitals for non-emergency cases, a quarter did not offer details on adverse reactions to treatments.

Chief executive of the CQC Cynthia Bower stated: “It is important that basic systems to share essential patient details are working effectively to get the right information to clinicians at the right time to minimise risks.”

In other NHS news this week, the organisation’s Change4Life anti-obesity campaign announced that it will allow Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus game to bear its logo.