Using Simulation to Assist in the Reduction of Drug Errors and Improve Patient Safety

In 2013 the clinical skills and simulation team at the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (PAHT) reviewed their existing training package regarding medicines management. Concerns were raised when some members of staff, who had made drug errors on the wards, were merely referred back to the same theoretical session they would have had previously. Impact evaluations revealed that existing theoretical sessions alone did not identify and challenge poor practice or reflect the drug errors happening in clinical practice. In response the team implemented a fundamental change to the format of training and introduced simulation to complement and augment the theoretical element of the training.