Pharmacist Suspended After Wrong Medicine Given to Epilepsy Patient at Andoorkonam PHC

Thiruvananthapuram: A pharmacist has been suspended after a patient was given the wrong medicine at the Andoorkonam Primary Health Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. The action followed a preliminary investigation by the Health Department, which found that the pharmacist had made an error.

Days ago, a 27-year-old man from Andoorkonam, Ambareesh, who sought treatment for epilepsy, was given a high-dose medicine prescribed for patients with mental health conditions. After taking the medicine, he was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Medical College Hospital, where he is currently undergoing treatment.

Ambareesh, who has long been living with autism and epilepsy, had been receiving treatment at the Andoorkonam Primary Health Centre. He regularly took the medicines supplied by the hospital pharmacy. However, his condition worsened after he took the medicine dispensed by the hospital last Friday. His family discovered the error when they checked the medicine and realised that it was not the one he usually took.

Instead of clobazam, the medicine prescribed for his epilepsy, the hospital supplied clozapine, an antipsychotic drug used in the treatment of serious mental health conditions. Ambareesh was supposed to receive clobazam in a 10 mg dose, but was mistakenly given 100 mg clozapine.

When his condition did not improve after taking the medicine, he took another 100 mg dose of the same drug. He subsequently lost consciousness and was taken by ambulance to the primary health centre in Andoorkonam. An examination there revealed that the wrong medicine had been dispensed.

He was immediately shifted to the Medical College Hospital on a doctor's instructions. Clobazam was prescribed for him only twice a week. However, taking a total of 200 mg of clozapine in two doses led to a deterioration in his health.

The doctor at the Medical College Hospital explicitly recorded in Ambareesh's case history that the wrong medicine had been administered. The doctor also warned that the mistakenly dispensed medicine could have serious consequences for the patient's health.