Bad handwriting on prescriptions putting diabetics at risk

By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent Published: 7:30AM GMT 01 March 2010

Bad scratch on prescriptions is putting diabetics at risk, a gift has warned Photo: ALAMY

In one in twenty cases remedy instructions could be simply misread, a new investigate suggests.

One in 6 contained a small kind of error, the investigate found, together with that they were illegible, undated or unsigned by the prescribing doctor.

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The latter can lead to delays in the administration department of insulin as remedy can usually be since if a remedy is sealed by a doctor.

The investigate additionally found that one in 3 charts did not have the scold timings for insulin injections.

The commentary of the study, that looked at 75 sanatorium charts of people with diabetes, will be presented to the Diabetes UK annual discussion in Liverpool subsequent week.

The gift warns that as well small insulin can lead to a coma, or even death.

Too most can means a hypoglycaemic piece (hypo) where the red blood glucose levels go as well low, ensuing in symptoms trimming from sweating to a loss of consciousness.

Simon ONeill, from the charity, said: "Diabetes UK is intensely endangered at this audits extraordinary revelations.

"Correct insulin doses and the timely co-ordination of remedy and dishes are basic, but necessary factors for great diabetes government and softened health."

He added: "At slightest 10 per cent of people in sanatorium have diabetes.

"Although not all people with diabetes yield their condition with insulin, the intensity health risks to tens of thousands of people can be avoided with elementary measures.

"Hospitals should safeguard that dilettante diabetes teams are accessible to assure competences of non-diabetes staff and yield suitable await to safeguard that people with diabetes in sanatorium are means to entrance the high peculiarity caring they should expect."

Dr Nagaraj Malipatil, lead researcher at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, where the investigate was carried out, said: "Insulin prescribing, has for a prolonged time been theme to less inspection and is prescribed less diligently since it is such a usual remedy in hospitals.

"Our review has demonstrated an unacceptably high commission of errors.

"A disagreement from an shortening for insulin units could have critical if not deadly consequences.

"There are discipline and medicines policies on essay scold prescriptions."

More than 2.5 million people have diabetes.

The numbers influenced are likely to turn in entrance decades, however, in piece since of lifestyle factors such as obesity.

Experts guess that 4 million people in Britain could be diabetic by 2025.