Child was allowed to collect drugs on behalf of hospital patient

A child was allowed to collect medication on behalf of a patient in an Aberdeen psychiatric hospital, BBC Scotland News has learned.

The 15-year-old - a relative of the patient in question at Royal Cornhill Hospital - was not asked for identification.

It is understood the medication collected from a ward included lithium and diazepam.

NHS Grampian launched an "urgent" review after the incident came to light. It said it would learn from the episode.

A complaint was made to NHS Grampian last week, after the teenager was allowed to collect the medication on behalf of the relative who was staying at the psychiatric hospital.

A review found that staff had been advised the individual was over the age of 16.

However no checks were done to confirm this at the point of collection.

Fiona Mitchelhill, chief officer of Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership (ACHSCP), said there was now an opportunity to strengthen the approach to how medication should be collected by someone other than the patient.

"Safe use of medication by patients and those who support them is paramount," she said.

"We have taken immediate steps across the hospital's wards to clarify that medication should not normally be provided to third parties, including young people, unless there is a clearly documented and appropriate arrangement in place."

Mitchelhill added: "We will learn from this case to further strengthen our systems and safeguard patient care and have taken immediate action to do so.

"We will be responding directly to the individuals who raised this concern to confirm the actions we have taken and our commitment to learning and improving."