The GMC review was based on 1,200 patients and found that there were errors for a sixth of people, affecting the elderly and children the most. The report did concede that most errors were only minor and would have been spotted and corrected by a pharmacy.

The errors that the review discovered ranged from incomplete information to dose levels and dose timings. Whilst a sixth of patients experienced problems, the figures were worse for the elderly. Nearly two fifths of people over the age of 75 had mistakes on their prescriptions, this was largely due to them being on many different medications at the same time.

Whilst the number of errors was fairly high, only 4% were considered serious. In these cases some were prescribed drugs that they were allergic to, whilst others were prescribed risky drugs without the proper monitoring.

The researchers argued that better training for GPs and an increase in the length of GP consultation times would help to reduce the errors.

The Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, reassured patients that systems are in place to protect patients and that the government were working with GPs to help improve practices. He added: “The vast majority of prescriptions are checked by community pharmacists, who spot and put right any errors when they are dispensed.”