The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire has said that the Federal government is planning an intervention that would target at least, 50 per cent reduction in severe preventable medication-related harm.

This was contained in his speech at the commemoration of the 2022 World Patient Safety Day held yesterday in Abuja,with the theme: ‘Medication Safety’ and the slogan is: ‘Medication without Harm’.

In his words: “The goal of Medication Safety as earlier stated is to reduce severe and preventable medication related harm by 50% in the next 5 years specifically by addressing harm resulting from errors or unsafe practices in the health system. This can be achieved by making improvements at each stage of the medication process, including prescribing, dispensing, administering, monitoring and use”.

He disclosed that “Nigeria is already working to develop its National Policy and Strategy on Patient Safety and Quality of care.We are hoping it will be completed and launched this year so that it can be deployed for use in all our health facilities at all levels of care. The policy focuses on improving medication safety, surgical safety, safety of all medical procedures etc. Sensitization and capacity are ongoing in our Federal Tertiary Health Institutions in the form of training on medication safety, infection prevention control, and other aspects of patient safety.

It is my hope that hospitals at all levels will be able to adopt and implement patient safety at different levels of care.

“Patient safety is everybody’s business and it requires the active participation of many key partners ranging from patients and their families to governmental, nongovernmental and professional organizations. This policy document will improve patient safety, clinical outcomes and client satisfaction by establishing the systems for assessing, measuring and improving patient safety at all levels of care in Nigeria”.

The day is marked annually on 17th September and commemorated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), International partners and all countries with the aim of increasing public awareness, stakeholder engagement, and advocacy for adoption of best practices at the point of care to promote patient safety.

The minister identifies key obstacles tohealthcare delivery systemand urged all and sundry to strive to eliminate them. These include among others:Hospital acquired infection;Surgical Safety;Medication safety;Unsafe transfusion practices;Diagnostic errors; andRadiation errors

Speaking further the minister said, “Every one of us at some point have used medicines for treatment of illnesses. The benefits of drugs/medications cannot be over emphasised, however medications can sometimes cause serious harm if not used correctly either as a result of miscommunication between the patient and healthcare giver, error in prescriptions, poor monitoring of patient on medication,misuse of antibiotics which can result in antimicrobial resistance, confusion in dispensing look alike and sound alike drugs, just to mention a few”.

Ehanire also noted that medication errors are underreported saying “underreporting of medication errors is also an issue”.

“A study conducted by Ogunleye et al on medication errors amongst health care professionals (doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists) in 10 tertiary hospitals across the country shows 35.5% of 2386 professionals that participated in this study reported medication error, while 33.4% did not think reporting was necessary.

“A high incidence of major medication errors related to prescription of incorrect antiretroviral therapy (ART), protocols, potential drug-drug interaction in Nigeria’s HIV treatment Programme have been reported in the past. The incidence rate of medication errors was somewhat high; and majority of identified errors were related to prescription of incorrect ART regimens and potential drug-drug interactions; the prescriber was contacted, and the errors were resolved in majority of cases. Active screening for medication errors is feasible in resource-limited settings following adequate capacity building”.

The minister noted thatpatients and members of the public are sometimes passive while receiving drug treatment.

“Most patients especially those on long term medications for chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, etc. are not aware of medications prescribed for them. Some patients abuse medications such as antibiotics that can create problems of antimicrobial resistance. Polypharmacy which is the routine use of four or more over-the-counter, prescription and/or traditional medications at the same time by a patient can also cause harm from multi drug interactions and increase the side effects of drugs. Miscommunications can also occur when patients’ drugs are not properly handed over either during change in shifts or transfer of care from one health facility to another”, he said.

“You will agree with me that everyone has a role in promoting Medication without Harm.Patients should be empowered to ask questions about the medications prescribed, know their names, and learn about the side effects of drugs being taken”, he added.

According to him, “Errors are not limited to medical or surgical services alone, some errors have also been recorded in our laboratories. Recently, a young lady was said to have been transfused with the wrong blood following which she developed severe transfusion reactions and eventually died. The case was reported by the Business Day Newspaper this year”.

Saying that thepolicy is binding on Government MDAs, at both national and state levels as well as stakeholders (NGOs, regulatory bodies, professional bodies, scientific associations and societies, academic and research institutions and civil society organisations), the minister commended the WHO for keeping up in creating the necessary awareness for patient safety.He urged all stakeholder in theentire healthcare system tobe committed to patient safety and reducing harm.