Lewisham hospital gives drug to WRONG patient causing overdose

A University Hospital Lewisham patient suffered an overdose after being given the potent opioid methadone by mistake.

The drug – which is commonly used for treating heroin withdrawals – was intended for another patient, the Lewisham Letter understands.

Medical staff had to administer the antidote Naloxone to pull the patient out of a ‘respiratory depression’. This is when someone’s breathing becomes increasingly slow or shallow.

The patient needed close monitoring after the blunder but fortunately survived.

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said staff had learnt lessons from the episode after a full investigation.

It is one of several concerning incidents reported internally by University Hospital Lewisham staff this year. We uncovered the cases through a Freedom of Information Request to the Trust.

It comes just a week after we reported on how an inquest heard University Hospital Lewisham failed to protect a suicidal dad who took his own life just minutes after leaving A&E.

One of the tragic cases uncovered by our FOI request involves a patient who died in a bathroom on the hospital’s Mulberry Ward after their heart monitor somehow disconnected.

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It is not clear how the monitor disconnected but staff reported the incident due to potential ‘care and service delivery issues’.

The individual was found dead in the bathroom and attempts to resuscitate them were sadly unsuccessful.

In a second case, a patient was left with a severe brain injury after their heart stopped beating during surgery due to air entering their bloodstream.

Staff held a debrief in the aftermath of the incident to discuss what went wrong and “immediate actions” were implemented, the Trust said.

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And a third case saw a patient receive a delayed cancer diagnosis amid three years of ‘inadequate clinical oversight’.

All three of the cases above are still under investigation by the Trust.

We asked the Trust several questions about each of the incidents but only received basic details.

A Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust spokesperson said: “We look after over one million patients a year here at LGT and we always strive to deliver exceptional standards of care.

“Like with all health care providers, the work we do carries a level of risk and complication that is specific to each patient.

“Regrettably, there are occasions when not everything goes to plan, and we are truly sorry when any patient harm occurs as a result.

“We take all the necessary steps to mitigate against and limit the number of serious incidents that happen and are committed to timely investigations that lead to active learning and improvements that prevent recurrence.

“This also means we live up to our duty of candour obligations by speaking honestly to our patients and their families, listening to what they tell us and taking steps to incorporate changes in line with their feedback.”

Lewisham hospital gives drug to WRONG patient causing overdose

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