Call for drug reaction deaths probe
Updated on 21 March 2008
The Government is facing calls for an investigation after it was disclosed that the number of patients dying as a result of a reaction to the drugs they were being treated with had doubled over the past 10 years.
Figures released by the Department of Health in a parliamentary answer showed that 1,031 patients died last year as a result of an adverse drugs reaction (ADR) compared to 447 in 1997, a 131% increase.
Over the same period, the number of ADR cases requiring prolonged hospitalisation rose from 2,484 to 4,545 - an 87% increase - while the total number of reported ADRs was up 30% from 16,627 to 21,600.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley described the increases as "worrying" and called for further investigation.
"There may be some improvements in reporting but these figures show a worrying trend towards more serious drug reaction leading to hospitalisation and a sharp increase in the number of deaths," he said.
"This warrants further investigation but clearly indicates that alongside the benefits of new drug treatments, we must have an improved system of patient safety.
"Ministers must see patient safety as their top priority. Labour's obsession with financial and waiting time targets still gets in the way of the right set of priorities for patients."
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