A woman ended up in the Accident and Emergency department after literally glueing her eyes shut.
This after she was given a dental paste instead of an eye medicine due to a mix-up by the pharmacy at Singapore’s National University Hospital (NUH).
The Straits Times reports that Madam Pang Har Tin first saw a doctor at NUH last Friday for a routine follow-up to several pre-existing eye conditions, including glaucoma. Procedures performed during the appointment left a corneal abrasion on her eye, causing irritation.
On Monday, she went to see another eye specialist at NUH and was prescribed a gel called Solcoseryl 20% Eye Gel, which would help her eyes heal.
However, instead of taking home the prescribed medication, she was given a dental adhesive tube paste called Solcoseryl Dental Adhesive Paste, an ointment used to treat inflammation and wounds in the mouth.
As the 63-year-old housewife could not read English, she failed to spot the mix-up by reading the label on the medicine. She later went home and applied the wrong paste on her eyes, causing her eyelids to stick together.
She was eventually rushed to NUH’s A & E department to have her right eye flushed out. It is understood that she has since made a full recovery.
In a statement released on Tuesday, NUH apologised for the incident.
“We are deeply sorry for Madam Pang’s experience which resulted from our error. Her well-being is our priority, and we have arranged for our eye specialist to review her on Wednesday. We will do our best to see through Madam Pang’s recovery.”
An NUH spokesman added that “the pharmacy staff involved have been counselled, and we have tightened our processes to minimise the risk of a similar error.”
Madam Pang’ son, Austin Liow, 35, told paper, “This is a very severe mistake, especially for the elderly who might not be well educated or read English. They will not know that they have received the wrong medication.”
“We were lucky that the box indicated it was a dental paste. If it had just the substance name, we would not even have realised there was a mistake,” he added.

Own Opinion: The woman has existing eye problems, such as glaucoma. She went to NUH for her routine medical check-up to see the doctor. After the check-up, she was prescribed the Solcoseryl 20% Eye Gel, which would help her eyes heal. Instead, she was not given the prescription, as she was given the Solcoseryl Dental Adhesive Paste, a dental adhesive tube paste, an ointment to treat wounds and inflammation in the mouth. As Mdm Pang is not able to read English, she still used the wrong prescription on her eyes, not realising the mix-up made by NUH. As a result of applying it on her eyes, her eyelids were glued together. She had to be rushed to the hospital to have her eye flushed out, and ever since, she has been making a steady recovery. NUH's response was to counsell the pharmacy staff and tighten up their procedures so as to prevent a repeat of such events. In my opinion, such a mix-up is extremely severe. Had the pharmacy prescribed a medication which the patient was allergic to, by consuming the medication, the patient could suffer from a allergic reaction, and who knows the severity of the reaction, it might cost a life. NUH must investigate and find out the reason behind the mix-up. Whether it was negligiance, fatigue or others. Better staff training should be enforced. The attitude of staff must also be monitored, especially for staff whom people have placed their health and welfare on. If it is fatigue, better staff rotation must be set in place, and perhaps a staff lounge where staff could take a short nap when off duty. All in all, staff in healthcare sectors should be more meticulous in their work, as one mistake, could harm another's welfare.
Ernest Lee, 102369D