Standardising intravenous infusion concentrations in children in the UK to reduce the risk of harm to patients

Public summary

The way nurses make up infusions for children in hospital is historically based on the patients weight, resulting in complicated infusion calculations and methods for making them up. These are fraught with inaccuracy and there have been multiple patient harm events associated with calculation errors and incorrect preparation.

The use of standardised concentrations could improve the accuracy of these solutions, facilitate simpler prescription and support the implementation of technology to ensure appropriate administration. This is a massive culture change in the the care of children and young people.

Care providers need to agree a framework of concentrations in order to start work on changing their processes. This requires collaborative working with a range of professionals. This has resulted in a proposed national framework endorsed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, and the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group. This can then be used to develop appropriate policy drivers, support packages and incentives to help services change.

Category of impact	Health and wellbeing
Impact level	Benefit