Reading Part B54

B54. The patient safety leaflet encourages patients to:

Patient Safety Advice: Medication

It’s important you keep track of your medicines – taking the right medicine at the right time will help you get well. Using medicines in the wrong way may cause unwanted side effects. To be medicine-wise in hospital you need to tell staff if you have had an allergic or bad reaction to any medicines or if you have trouble swallowing medicines. You should tell the staff straight away if you feel unwell after taking any medicine. Let staff know if you think you should have received some medicines, or the medicines appear different. It is important that all medicines are explained to you before you leave the hospital to go home or to another care provider. Always ask your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist if you don’t understand your medicine instructions. Questions you should ask about your medicines in hospital are “What is this medicine for?”, “Are there any possible side effects?” and “Can they be taken safely with other medicines?”