The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7452 p576
19 May 2007

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Patients are not given enough information about the purpose of their medicines

Fewer hospital patients than a year ago are being given full information about the purpose of their medicines and possible side effects, according to the latest patient survey from the Healthcare Commission.

Results from the 2006 survey of more than 80,000 patients from 167 acute and specialist NHS trusts in England, reveal that only 37 per cent were told “completely” about the side effects to look out for when they were discharged from hospital, down from 40 per cent in 2005. A further 19 per cent were informed “to some extent”. The proportion of patients who report that they were told “completely” about the purpose of their medicines in a way they could understand is also down from 79 per cent in 2002 to 76 per cent in 2006; with 16 per cent being told “to some extent”.

However, the survey also shows that more patients were given clear written or printed information about their medicines, up to 65 per cent from 62 per cent for 2005.

Waiting for medicines is still the most common reason for delays in discharge with 61 per cent of respondents citing this reason, a figure similar to that reported in 2005.

Overall, improvements were identified in cleanliness, hand washing and time waited for planned admissions. The Healthcare Commission emphasises that changes in results over time may appear small but are significant because of the large number of responses.

The survey and associated figures are available on the Healthcare Commission website