A district health board who sent an elderly woman home with the wrong medication has been found to have breached the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights.
Health and Disability Commissioner Anthony Hill today released a report with the finding, which was made after the woman became unwell from taking the incorrect medication she had been accidentally given, requiring her to return to hospital.
The woman was originally admitted to a public hospital for treatment, bringing her personal medications with her.
During the woman's admission, her medications were kept in the public hospital's medication room in an unlabelled bag placed in a container labelled with the woman's name and room number.
Following treatment, a registered nurse was responsible for the woman's discharge.