Shropshire hospital fridge failure caused write off of £25,000 worth of medications
Some £25,000 of Shropshire hospital medication was ‘written off’ after a fridge door was left ajar, a meeting heard.
NHS trust leaders heard that the fridge in The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust pharmacy department did not have an alarm to alert staff.
Professor Trevor Purt, vice chair of SaTH, told the trust board meeting on Thursday (March 12) about the incident.
It had been reported to the SaTH audit and risk assurance committee which was told that it was left open ‘inadvertently.’
He said it lead to the meds being ‘effectively written off.”
Board papers noted that the costs of pharmacy items, wastage and write-offs ‘remained a concern’.
The committee report reads: “The committee was advised of a pharmacy fridge door which was recently inadvertently left ajar and led to £25,000 of medication being rendered unusable.
“However, regarding pharmacy wastage, it was noted that several mitigations had been identified which could save a significant amount of money for the trust; a business case was in the process of being developed, which if successful, would increase the capacity for medicines recycling, leading to less wastage.”
After the meeting a spokesperson for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said: “The trust is committed to reducing waste to ensure value for money and is always looking for new opportunities, including within pharmacy.
“The overall cost of pharmacy waste remains around the trust’s target and while it has increased slightly, this is due to an increase in costs of purchasing medicines.”
