that I've been given the wrong instructions on a prescription - 5 times too much for a 1 year old

[felicity10]

Has this happened to anyone else?

I've just spoken to the customer line of a well known high street pharmacy and they said " oh yes, just a typing error!" My DD was prescribed some antibiotics and she should have one spoon 3 times a day but the bottle says FIVE spoons 3 times a day.

I am going to complain in the store later but cannot believe how careless they have been. Has this happened to anyone else? Any advice on what I should say, I am not sure what the result would have been had I not checked.

She is only 1!

Hi. This is very important and you should inform your GP and complain to the chemist. A 'significant event' report will be filed and it will be discussed to ensure procedures are in place to stop it happening again. If local practices are aware of multiple errors made by one pharmacist then it is more likely that the problem will be addressed, so please don't just leave it with the chemist to sort it out.

You should complain to the pharmacy regulatory body www.pharmacyregulation.org/. It's obviously not a 'typo' as the woman so blithely suggested and suggests that they have a somewhat cavalier (I love that word!) approach to dispensing. This needs to be reported at a higher level so they can't just brush it under the carpet, as obviously their checking procedures are neither safe nor rigorous enough. As others have pointed out, what if this had been paracetamol and in any case who knows what five times the correct dose could've done to your LO. Thank goodness you checked.

Complain.

I went to our out of hours service because my throat felt like someone was chopping it into tiny pieces. Doctor told me that I had tonsilitis. I looked at him and told him I had had my tonsils out 20 years earlier! He explained that it was basically tonsalitis as I had white spots where my tonsils should be.

I accepted that. He said he would give some penicillin. I Informed him I was allergic to penicillin. He said not to worry he would give me something similar. Fine.

Took meds, got to work, read the box and it had some sort of long work on it (can't remember what now) which had the word penicillin it. I assumed it was the similar thing he had referred to and they just had similar things. Thought about it a bit more, wasn't too happy about it so went to pharmacy to check. Yes - it was pencilin! So I went back to the hospital and exchanged it. Very frustrating. The doctor was very apologetic and I didn't complain but sort of wish I had as it is a huge error to make.