Princess Alexandra Hospital apologises after morphine overdose death

News has emerged of a deeply distressing case involving 63-year-old cancer patient, Paulino Amico, who died at Princess Alexandra Hospital after being given multiple accidental morphine overdoses. Essex coroner Sonia Hayes concluded that Mr Amico’s death was ‘hastened and contributed to’ by these overdoses, which arose from a prescription error that went unchecked during his admission on 10 and 11 June 2024.

Mr Amico, who was living with metastatic bladder cancer, was admitted with severe bilateral pneumonia. During his stay, his prescription for slow-release morphine was altered – without a face-to-face medical review – and he subsequently received six doses in under 24 hours, rather than the two that should have been prescribed.

Although staff partially reversed the overdose using Naloxone, the coroner found that the treatment did not follow British National Formulary guidelines or comply with an existing NHS England alert regarding opioid reversal. Mr Amico tragically died on 12 June 2024.

The hospital has since apologised to the family and confirmed that steps have been taken to prevent a similar event, including updates to the electronic prescribing system and the introduction of mandatory medicines-administration refresher training for nursing staff.

A preventable tragedy – and sadly, not an isolated one

At Attwaters Solicitors, we frequently act for patients and families who have been affected by hospital errors and drug and medication mistakes. Sadly, the issues highlighted in Mr Amico’s case – incorrect prescribing, failure to check dosage, and deviation from clinical guidelines – are problems we continue to see across the NHS.

In a recent case handled by our Medical Negligence team, a patient received compensation after experiencing multiple medication errors during treatment.

Medication mistakes can occur for many reasons – system failures, staff shortages, human error – but their impact can be life-changing and, as this case painfully demonstrates, sometimes fatal.

If you or a loved one has suffered harm due to:
• Hospital error – https://attwaters.co.uk/medical-negligence/hospital-error/
• Drugs and medication negligence – https://attwaters.co.uk/medical-negligence/drugs-and-medication/

… our specialist team is here to offer confidential advice and guidance.