The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7492 p275
8 March 2008

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• Darzi review
• Glaucoma
• Minor ailment scheme
• Community pharmacy (2)
• Clinical trials
• Hospital pharmacy

Letters to the Editor

Hospital pharmacy

Admission notes are often appalling

From Mr L. S. R. Baker, MRPharmS

After more than 30 years working in secondary care, I am a little tired of the continual criticism of hospital discharge notes. I recognise that they are not perfect but we live in an imperfect world.

In my experience, a lot of effort by hospitals has been, and is being expended on the problem, resulting a huge improvement over the past few years. What has not improved is the appalling nature of notes often brought in by patients on admission. On at least one occasion I was presented with an incomprehensible scrawl on paper tissue, purporting to be notes and I do not doubt that colleagues can recall other horrors.

This state of affairs does not appear to have changed, nor does it seem to attract the same sort of criticism as discharge notes. It would be nice to think that efforts are being made in primary care to raise standards of documentation accompanying patients on admission, but I doubt it.

I have no faith in a computerised national patient records initiative as a solution. The NHS has an unenviable record with large computer projects and the Government an unenviable record in keeping such data safe.

Perhaps the answer lies in a totally managed NHS. But that is another debate.

Llewellyn S. R. Baker
North Ferriby, Yorkshire

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