STRINGENT safeguards have been introduced at the Royal Bolton Hospital after a man died when the wrong drug was fed into an intravenous drip.

Divorcee Craig Richardson, aged 37, was slowly poisoned to death after the mistake by a nurse.

Eighteen months after Mr Richardson's death, the hospital has introduced a series of early warning systems to prevent such a tragedy happening again.

Mr Richardson, of Kershaw Street, Tyldesley, died on January 1 last year from a massive heart attack brought on by the wrong medication.

A Bolton coroner said the death was an accident. The nurse, who continues to work at the hospital, was not struck off and did not face any criminal charges.

Hospital chiefs admitted after the inquest that there were lessons to be learned and agreed to introduce extra safeguards.

One measure is the introduction of a pharmacist to supervise the drugs given to patients by nurses.

Samim Patel is said to have had a "significant impact" on safety since he started working in the medical admissions unit eight weeks ago.

Medical director Ron Hopkins said Mr Patel had already spotted "one or two" potential drug prescribing errors.

Mr Hopkins said: "The pharmacist has reduced a number of potential errors. We have to continue to put in place mechanisms to reduce these incidents."

Mr Hopkins also revealed that he is looking at reducing the number of blood transfusion errors. Two non-fatal incidents of "serious" transfusion errors have been reported at the hospital, he said.

Other steps to improve safety standards include nurses being trained to quickly identify when patients become seriously ill, so they can be treated faster and be admitted more speedily to the intensive care unit.

A steering group for reforming emergency care is also examining the way the hospital looks after the elderly, as well as focussing on cancelled operations.

Tighter controls are also being introduced to prevent doctors from having a "free rein" to practise new techniques on patients.

They will undergo strict tests if they use new techniques to prevent mistakes being made. Surgeons will have to prove they have understood their lessons in new procedures before they can carry out operations.

Mr Hopkins added: "In the past, doctors have had a free rein on patients but now there are stringent controls. They have to show that they have understood the new techniques and have practised them before operating on people.

"Then they can only proceed under supervision."

Members of Mr Richardson's family were not available to comment on the drug-prescribing safeguards.

Hospital chiefs are hoping the bill for insurance covering payouts for successful litigation will reduce by the end of the year. They say complaints have dropped, which means they could qualify for a 20 per cent discount from the NHS Litigation Authority.