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Covert Drug Administration Dear NHS EXPOSED, Please see enclosed an article I read from the ‘Nursing Times’, I think it’s contents are sinister. I think the practice is widespread and only being admitted to recently. I think the use of “Covert drug administration” by nurses also applies to the mentally ill and people with learning disabilities, and this may well be denied by staff. Do you have any personal knowledge of this practice? I would welcome your views on “Covert drug administration”. Yours sincerely, NHS EXPOSED REPLIES Dear Mr Bond, While I am sure that covert drug administration goes on , I have no first hand experience of it . It is true that nurses speak of these things and particularly in psychiatric care . This is trully sinister and the Nursing Times has done well in bringing it to the public arena. There are many illegal practices that occur in NHS Hospitals . Unfortunately, due to the Department of Health and government coverups, the public will probably not know the true story behind shut doors . It is a known fact that the medical fraternity will perserve its reputation at any cost , even at the cost of a person's life . It the times when Freemasonary is rife, one has to wonder whether there is any justice in the NHS. Many thanks for bringing this to the attention of NHS Exposed . Covert drug administration needs to be investigated by the authorities . Whether this is done ie probably a mere twinkle in the government's eyes. Covert Drug Administration must cease. Yours sincerely, See also : 6 August 2000 Nurses are sneaking medicines into patient's food and drink on a daily basis, it has been revealed. Nurses have been decision-makers when administering drugs secretly and the practice is reportedly a daily event in many care homes and hospitals. Senior nursing staff admitted to covert feeding of drugs in more than 70% of the institutions studied, though this figure is much higher in reality, the report estimates. While chief nursing staff in three institutions denied the practice, more junior staff said it occurred 'every day'. Frequently, it was claimed that the drugs were administered to prevent a patient's mental stress or physical danger. But researchers discovered that medical staff were frequently failing to inform patients and relatives that the medication has been dispensed. 'This disturbing picture may be attributable to a culture of fear surrounding covert medication, in which written guidelines are lacking and concern about litigation drives the practice underground,' said researchers, writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Nursing staff have, in the past, been subject to disciplinary action for covert administration of medication. Despite the potential dangers of crushing tablets and mixing drugs with foods, only three of the senior nurses or carers questioned had consulted pharmacists. 'Even though some carers seem to approve of covert drug administration in certain circumstances, the secrecy in which it is shrouded and the lack of policies governing its use must be questioned,' said researchers. 'The potential for abuse is heightened when practices go unrecorded and unmonitored.' Patient groups were disapproving of the practice. 'The Mental Health Act provides a framework in which medication can be given to people who cannot give consent,' pointed out Harry Cayton, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society. ‘Giving people with dementia medication without their knowledge or consent was a denial of their independence and dignity.’ The report found that medical staff had used marshmallows and sandwiches as vehicles to conceal the medication. © 2000 Nursing Times - The Independent Voice of Nursing. Emap Digital Limited, Greater London House, NW1 7EJ, UK
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