Temporary staff in hospital accident and emergency departments could be more likely to make mistakes such as not reading pharma labels properly and not speaking up if they suspect a problem than full-time workers.

This is according to a new study carried out at Johns Hopkins University, which looked at data from medication error reporting systems across almost 600 hospitals.

It was found that there were twice as many mistakes made by those working part-time than by their permanent counterparts.

Given the urgency of the department and the lack of time to double-check things like pharmaceutical labels at the dispensing stage, these errors were also more likely to reach patients, cause harm and even threaten lives.

Dr Julius Cuong Pham said the findings are a cause for concern, as many hospitals are using more temporary staff than ever due to nursing shortages.

It could lead to clearer pharmaceutical labels being required for medication and better training in dispensing.

University of Washington School of Pharmacy professor Skye McKennon recently told the New York Times that drugs must be stored at the correct temperature or they could develop harmful side effects not stated on their printed labels.

Denny Bros Ltd , 2nd September 2011