SYRINGES which put patients at risk of potentially fatal overdoses of high-strength painkiller were used on the NHS in Scotland until June this year, despite safety warnings dating back more than 20 years.
The pumps are reportedly behind at least 12 patient deaths across Britain, according to a Sunday Times investigation which also claimed that they remained in use across the NHS amid pressure to save money.
Concern over the Graseby MS 16A and MS 26 syringes came to light earlier this year after a whistleblower claimed their role in the deaths of hundreds of elderly patients at Gosport Memorial Hospital had been suppressed to avoid a national scandal.
As far back as 1994, the NHS in Scotland issued a hazard notice warning that patients were being given incorrect doses of medication due to confusion between the two models.
The notice stressed that, at the time, there had be no such incidents reported in Scotland.
The key problem was that the MS 16A syringe which administered opiates over an hour closely resembled the MS 26 model, which released opiates over 24 hours, resulting in the risk of a huge overdose.
Both Graseby pumps were also calibrated in millimetres, whereas newer devices used millilitres, leading to confusion.
New Zealand and Australia suspended their use in 2007 and England's National Patient Safety Agency issued an alert in 2010 linking the pumps to eight deaths from 2005-2010.
Instead of an urgent recall, it set a deadline to withdraw them from the NHS in England and Wales by December 2015.
No such action was taken in Scotland, however, and a few remained in circulation until June 2018.
The Sunday Times said it has identified four more patient deaths linked to the syringes since 2010, including that of 79-year-old Michael Shuckford, from Great Yarmouth.
An inquest heard Mr Shuckford was accidentally given a double dose of diamorphine after confusion over the syringe measurements.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “When this came to light in June we took immediate action to remove the few pumps of this type still in use in NHS Scotland and can confirm none are now are being used.
"Safety remains absolutely paramount across NHS Scotland and all medical devices, including syringe drivers, are appropriately regulated. The professionals who use them are also trained and regulated.”
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