Drug given to sick baby 'was 100 times prescribed dose'

Published on Wednesday 4 November 2009 21:14

A PREMATURE baby was given 100 times the prescribed dose of a drug during treatment in hospital, the child's great-grandfather said yesterday.

The baby boy was born at 26 weeks in April 2008 and was cared for at his local neonatal unit.

His great-grandfather, who said the family wished to remain anonymous, explained that during his care, the baby needed a procedure at another hospital to remove a catheter from his body.

However, this could not happen immediately, meaning the neonatal unit had to carry out a procedure so the catheter could remain in place safely.

He said during the procedure, the baby was given a dose of the anti-clotting drug heparin that was 100 times higher than what he should have received.

The baby's condition deteriorated, and at one point his 16-year-old parents were told it was unlikely he would survive.

However, his health improved and after 175 days in the unit, he was allowed home. He now appears to be doing well, though the family said it could be ten to 15 years before they were sure the child had not suffered any developmental effects as a result of the incident.

The great-grandfather said he believed it was the most serious heparin-related incident involving a premature baby in the UK.

He said the family now faced a difficult wait to see if the child had any long-lasting effects after being deprived of oxygen when his condition worsened.

"We have been watching every day with him, and every time you see him, you wonder is that something, or is that something," he said.

Mandy Yule, from NHS Ayrshire and Arran, said: "We take the safety of our patients very seriously.

"Through our involvement with the Scottish Patient Safety Programme, we operate a rigorous system of safety checks of medicine distribution.

"We constantly review this process to ensure its continued effectiveness."