Hospital: ‘Poor Decisions’ by Staff Giving Outsize Pain Meds

Hospital: ‘Poor Decisions’ by Staff Giving Outsize Pain Meds
In this Jan. 15, 2019 file photo, the main entrance to Mount Carmel West Hospital is shown in Columbus, Ohio. The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System said a doctor's orders for potentially fatal doses of pain medicine given to over two dozen patients were carried out by what he calls "a small number of good people who made poor decisions." Mount Carmel Health System said it fired the intensive care doctor, put six pharmacists and 14 nurses on paid leave pending further review and reported its findings to authorities. AP Photo/Andrew Welsh Huggins, File
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COLUMBUS, Ohio—An Ohio doctor’s orders for potentially fatal doses of pain medicine given to at least 27 hospital patients were carried out by employees who “made poor decisions” and ignored existing safeguards, a top administrator told staff in an internal video.

The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System said it fired the intensive care doctor, reported its findings to authorities and has put six pharmacists and 14 nurses on paid leave pending further review.