A prescription mix-up in a Cork hospital led to the death of an elderly man who received his medication daily rather than weekly.
Cork Coroner's Court was told Mr Timothy Hayes (74), of Glanmire, died on August 4th last because of the side-effects of an excessive dosage of methotrexate.
A consultant dermatologist at St Finbarr's Hospital had prescribed 15 milligrams of the drug to be administered once weekly for Mr Hayes's skin condition. However, a note by Dr Fergus Lyons was interpreted incorrectly by staff and the wrong dosage was entered on the ward's prescription chart.
Mr Hayes started taking the drug daily on July 16th. Dr Conor Bogue said that on July 24th a ward sister reported that Mr Hayes had a sore throat and some difficulties with swallowing.
He became concerned the patient might have suffered side-effects due to his medication. Blood tests confirmed bone marrow suppression, with the patient becoming seriously ill. He was transferred to Cork University Hospital on July 31st and died four days later. Since the tragedy cyto-toxic drugs are being administered centrally from the pharmacy at CUH to hospitals including St Finbarr's. The jury recorded a verdict of misadventure.