29 Apr 2015 Jorge Emanuel Mousinho Assabay E Castro · Prevention of Future Deaths report Manchester West
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Concerns raised 3 Failure to review hospital consultant alerts about medication adherence View source Lack of systems to identify and highlight outstanding prescriptions View source Failure to review patients’ non-collection of prescribed medication View source
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
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AI-generated summary
Jorge Emanuel Mousinho Assabay E Castro · Prevention of Future Deaths report
This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.
Report summary
Jorge Emanuel Mousinho Assabay E Castro died at home on 16 October 2014 after being found collapsed and unresponsive. He had post-traumatic epilepsy but had not received sodium valproate after 3 July 2014, despite attending his GP practice three times without the medication issue being reviewed. The principal concerns were the lack of systems to identify uncollected prescriptions and to alert GPs to medication-adherence concerns, particularly for vulnerable patients.
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× Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Springfield Medical Centre; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Failure to review hospital consultant alerts about medication adherence
Wider context from the report “1. During the Inquest evidence was heard that:
i. Jorge had not received sodium valproate medication for administration after 3rd July 2014 and he had been diagnosed with post traumatic epilepsy in February 2014 requiring regular treatment with sodium valproate as an anti-epileptic medication.
ii. Jorge had been seen by General Practitioners at the Springfield Medical Centre on three occasions after the 3rd July 2014 without any review of the fact that he had not collected prescriptions for sodium valproate and the fact that the General Practitioner had received a letter from ████████ alerting the General Practitioner to an issue in relation to his regular adherence with his anti-epileptic medication.
iii. Jorge was known to be a vulnerable person, who consumed excess amounts of alcohol on a regular basis and who was being treated with Citalopram for depression prior to his injuries on the 20th June 2013 and subsequently on the 18th September 2014 prior to his death.
iv. The General Practitioner’s surgery at Springfield Medical Centre does not appear to have any systems to identify and highlight a patient who has not collected prescriptions, particularly in relation to vulnerable patients who will be dependent on medication for the control of a diagnosed condition and, as in the case of Jorge, to reduce the risk of episodes of seizure.
In particular the computerised records do not have a system of highlighting any outstanding prescriptions at subsequent consultations so that a General Practitioner was not alerted to the fact that Jorge had not collected his prescriptions and would not have had a supply of his anti-epileptic medication after the 3rd July 2014 at any of the appointments following the 3rd July 2014.
v. The evidence raised concerns that there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken to review the above issues.
2. I request you to consider the above concerns, particularly with regard to the following:
i. The procedures and systems to highlight and alert General Practitioners in relation to concerns or issues raised by a Hospital Consultant, namely in Jorge’s case by ████████ with regard to Jorge’s regular adherence with his anti-epileptic medication.
ii. A review of your systems and procedures to alert General Practitioners in relation to the issue of prescriptions and the failure of a patient to collect prescriptions for prescribed medications, particularly in relation to vulnerable patients who have not collected or received their prescriptions for a period of time.
iii. Training of all staff, both professional and administrative, in relation to record keeping and checks in relation to outstanding prescriptions, particularly when a vulnerable patient has not collected a prescription and has not received necessary and prescribed medications for a period of time.
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Springfield Medical Centre; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Lack of systems to identify and highlight outstanding prescriptions
Wider context from the report “1. During the Inquest evidence was heard that:
i. Jorge had not received sodium valproate medication for administration after 3rd July 2014 and he had been diagnosed with post traumatic epilepsy in February 2014 requiring regular treatment with sodium valproate as an anti-epileptic medication.
ii. Jorge had been seen by General Practitioners at the Springfield Medical Centre on three occasions after the 3rd July 2014 without any review of the fact that he had not collected prescriptions for sodium valproate and the fact that the General Practitioner had received a letter from ████████ alerting the General Practitioner to an issue in relation to his regular adherence with his anti-epileptic medication.
iii. Jorge was known to be a vulnerable person, who consumed excess amounts of alcohol on a regular basis and who was being treated with Citalopram for depression prior to his injuries on the 20th June 2013 and subsequently on the 18th September 2014 prior to his death.
iv. The General Practitioner’s surgery at Springfield Medical Centre does not appear to have any systems to identify and highlight a patient who has not collected prescriptions , particularly in relation to vulnerable patients who will be dependent on medication for the control of a diagnosed condition and, as in the case of Jorge, to reduce the risk of episodes of seizure.
In particular the computerised records do not have a system of highlighting any outstanding prescriptions at subsequent consultations so that a General Practitioner was not alerted to the fact that Jorge had not collected his prescriptions and would not have had a supply of his anti-epileptic medication after the 3rd July 2014 at any of the appointments following the 3rd July 2014.
v. The evidence raised concerns that there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken to review the above issues.
2. I request you to consider the above concerns, particularly with regard to the following:
i. The procedures and systems to highlight and alert General Practitioners in relation to concerns or issues raised by a Hospital Consultant, namely in Jorge’s case by ████████ with regard to Jorge’s regular adherence with his anti-epileptic medication.
ii. A review of your systems and procedures to alert General Practitioners in relation to the issue of prescriptions and the failure of a patient to collect prescriptions for prescribed medications, particularly in relation to vulnerable patients who have not collected or received their prescriptions for a period of time.
iii. Training of all staff, both professional and administrative, in relation to record keeping and checks in relation to outstanding prescriptions, particularly when a vulnerable patient has not collected a prescription and has not received necessary and prescribed medications for a period of time.
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Springfield Medical Centre; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Failure to review patients’ non-collection of prescribed medication
Wider context from the report “1. During the Inquest evidence was heard that:
i. Jorge had not received sodium valproate medication for administration after 3rd July 2014 and he had been diagnosed with post traumatic epilepsy in February 2014 requiring regular treatment with sodium valproate as an anti-epileptic medication.
ii. Jorge had been seen by General Practitioners at the Springfield Medical Centre on three occasions after the 3rd July 2014 without any review of the fact that he had not collected prescriptions for sodium valproate and the fact that the General Practitioner had received a letter from ████████ alerting the General Practitioner to an issue in relation to his regular adherence with his anti-epileptic medication.
iii. Jorge was known to be a vulnerable person, who consumed excess amounts of alcohol on a regular basis and who was being treated with Citalopram for depression prior to his injuries on the 20th June 2013 and subsequently on the 18th September 2014 prior to his death.
iv. The General Practitioner’s surgery at Springfield Medical Centre does not appear to have any systems to identify and highlight a patient who has not collected prescriptions, particularly in relation to vulnerable patients who will be dependent on medication for the control of a diagnosed condition and, as in the case of Jorge, to reduce the risk of episodes of seizure.
In particular the computerised records do not have a system of highlighting any outstanding prescriptions at subsequent consultations so that a General Practitioner was not alerted to the fact that Jorge had not collected his prescriptions and would not have had a supply of his anti-epileptic medication after the 3rd July 2014 at any of the appointments following the 3rd July 2014.
v. The evidence raised concerns that there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken to review the above issues.
2. I request you to consider the above concerns, particularly with regard to the following:
i. The procedures and systems to highlight and alert General Practitioners in relation to concerns or issues raised by a Hospital Consultant, namely in Jorge’s case by ████████ with regard to Jorge’s regular adherence with his anti-epileptic medication.
ii. A review of your systems and procedures to alert General Practitioners in relation to the issue of prescriptions and the failure of a patient to collect prescriptions for prescribed medications, particularly in relation to vulnerable patients who have not collected or received their prescriptions for a period of time.
iii. Training of all staff, both professional and administrative, in relation to record keeping and checks in relation to outstanding prescriptions, particularly when a vulnerable patient has not collected a prescription and has not received necessary and prescribed medications for a period of time.
” Open source report
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Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Deliver a half-day training workshop for staff involved in repeat-prescription generation to support the revised systems and procedures.
Verbatim wording from the response “3. Training of all staff in relation to prescribing
As a practice we have taken this opportunity to look at our prescribing systems and the changes above do require staff training. However, we have also looked at the possibility of external facilitators who may bring further advice and expertise to the practice of effective management of repeat prescribing. We can confirm that a half-day workshop has been arranged for Thursday 25th June and we would be open to any further recommendations on this day.”
Source location 2015-0170-Response-by-Springfield-Medical-Centre Page 3 · response Published 29 April 2015
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Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Notify and collaborate with local pharmacies regarding interruptions to weekly medication collection or supply, and disseminate the significant-event learning.
Verbatim wording from the response “Weekly prescriptions are all sent to the patient’s nominated pharmacy. We have written to our local pharmacies and asked them to kindly inform us if there is any interruption to any of these patients’ medication collection or supply.”
Source location 2015-0170-Response-by-Springfield-Medical-Centre Page 3 · response Published 29 April 2015
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Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Amend the prescribing system to highlight overdue prescriptions after three months and prompt timely clinical follow-up.
Verbatim wording from the response “time period and the practice has made the necessary amendments so that in future any staff viewing a patient’s prescriptions will be alerted sooner (from 3 months) and appropriate action can be taken to mitigate any risk to the patient. This would include immediate notification to the General Practitioner who would then liaise with the patient, carers, family and pharmacy as appropriate. The practice can then work with all necessary individuals or agencies to help support the patient with compliance of their medication.”
Source location 2015-0170-Response-by-Springfield-Medical-Centre Page 3 · response Published 29 April 2015
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Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Implement patient-record alerts when medication-compliance concerns are raised, with staff notifying management so alerts are activated.
Verbatim wording from the response “medication. As a practice we have considered how our IT system can support the practice team in alerting us to similar issues with patients. It is possible for an alert to flag up when any member of staff enters the patient’s records and this will now be implemented for any patients who, similar to Mr Castro, are known to have compliance issues with their medication. All practice staff, clinical and administrative, have been advised to inform the practice management team immediately of any patient where compliance issues have been raised by family, carers or any other health care professionals. The management team will then ensure that an alert is activated on the patient’s records.”
Source location 2015-0170-Response-by-Springfield-Medical-Centre Page 2 · response Published 29 April 2015
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Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Create and regularly update a register of patients receiving weekly prescriptions, with monthly administrative checks and GP review of omissions.
Verbatim wording from the response “However, even this system has its limitations, as it would only highlight the issue of overdue prescriptions when a member of the practice team is actually in the patient’s records and looking at the repeat medication screen. As a practice we have over 3000 patients on regular repeat medication. Each prescription is usually for 1 to 2 months duration. However, approximately 300 of these patients, like Mr Castro, are issued medications on a weekly basis. This system is usually for patient safety or as a compliance aid. We have thus decided to create a register of all patients who are receiving prescriptions on a weekly basis. These prescriptions are issued in 4 weekly batches and the administrative staff will be checking the prescriptions have been issued for each patient every month. Those that have not been issued will be passed to a General Practitioner for review.”
Source location 2015-0170-Response-by-Springfield-Medical-Centre Page 3 · response Published 29 April 2015
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