Cautionary tales 

The staff of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at the University of Bedfordshire are committed to making a positive contribution to patient safety. All health related programmes of study therefore include key aspects of patient safety and human factors theory.

This web site is designed to highligh elements of patient safety research and policy acting as bridge to the wider field of patient safety theory and practice.

Patient safety story 1

A doctor looked in the drug cupboard next to the newly admitted patient's bed and prescribed the medication found there. The hospital nursing staff gave the medication as prescribed for two days only to then discover that the medication in the cupboard had in fact belonged to the previous patient in that bed – a misidentification event.

Patient safety story 2

Following delivery of her infant, a mother was given the oxytocic drug syntometrine in error instead of syntocinon for the third stage of labour. The mother was known to have essential hypertension, so this was a dangerous error. She subsequently  required close monitoring for several hours post-delivery to ensure her blood pressure did not rise significantly.

Patient safety story 3

A 68 year old West Indian lady required help with her insulin injection as she had recently had a stroke which had left her paralysed down one side of her body. Her elderly mother was visiting from Jamaica and was sitting in the front room when the district nurse visited. The daughter went to make the district nurse a cup of tea and whilst out of the room the district nurse gave the injection to the mother in error.