Hospital Horror Stories: Wrong Medication Dose results in Kidney Failure

A Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital patient with an infection was given a medication to treat the infection. The doctor wrote a specific order for an antibiotic with precise dosage of the medication with respect to the patient’s weight. The hospital pharmacy made up the wrong dose and sent it to the nurse to be administered. The nurse injected the medicine in the patient and the patient then went into kidney failure. Because the patient was given the incorrect dose and developed renal failure the patient had to begin renal dialysis. The patient’s kidney function never returned to normal and now the patient is waiting for a kidney transplant. Why can’t the hospital be precise and why did the pharmacist incorrectly give the wrong dose? Was the pharmacist chastised? Knowing the hospital as we do, a giant pay raise was probably given instead of a pink slip! Speaking of pink slips why doesn’t the Board of Directors start to seriously look at these problems and deal with them.
Keep the stories coming folks, our valley community needs to know what is going on at the local hospital!!!