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The Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce MPLiberal Democrat MP for Gordon |
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Bruce seeks clarification on NHS metric scales confusion
January 4, 2010 3:00 PM
Gordon Lib Dem MP Malcolm Bruce is to raise concerns that patients' lives could be put at risk due to confusion between imperial and metric scales with NHS Grampian.
The MP was reacting to a report from the UK Metric Association that found that 40% of scales in use in hospitals were switchable between metric and imperial units, almost two years after a Trading Standards investigation warned of the potential for mistakes.
Mr Bruce is concerned that this could lead to a situation where medication could be administered wrongly due to confusion between metric and imperial units.
Commenting, Malcolm Bruce said:
"The consequences of administering the wrong dose of medication to vulnerable patients could be dire. I will be writing to NHS Grampian to clarify if the scales they use are switchable, and if so, what precautions they are taking to guard against mistakes being made.
"I am concerned that a considerable number of hospitals do not appear to have addressed a problem that Trading Standards warned of two years ago.
"I hope NHS Grampian will be able to reassure patients that the potential for error has been minimised.
ENDS
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