National Patient Safety Alert: Inadvertent oral administration of potassium permanganate

A joint National Patient Safety Alert has been issued by the NHS England and NHS Improvement National Patient Safety Team, and the British Association of Dermatologists, on the risk of inadvertent oral administration of potassium permanganate.

The alert asks both secondary and primary care providers to take action to assess if the benefit of using potassium permanganate outweighs the risk. And, if use is to continue, ensure:

• Safer prescribing and labelling
• It is stored safely.

Further details, actions required, resources and supporting materials are available on the NHS England website.