The use of infusion has increased

The National Patient Safety Agency has drawn up guidelines on the use of the devices, which pump fluids and drugs into the body via a vein.

More than 15m infusions take place in the NHS each year, and there are more than 700 reports of adverse incidents.

Most are down to user errors, usually involving the administration of wrong doses.

It was inevitable that staff would make mistakes. Dr Helen Glenister

The number of errors has grown over the last decade, partly because infusion is now used more regularly, but also because the devices have become more complex.

The NPSA guidance is an attempt to reduce this trend by outlining the steps that hospitals can take to improve patient safety - and make significant cost savings.

The guidance is based on a study into the use of infusion devices at six NHS trusts, which found that on average 31 different types of device are available at each trust, raising the potential for confusion over their use.

The research also found that two-thirds of infusion devices are not used most of the time, and that reducing stock by only 10% would save on average �120,000 per organisation.

Dr Helen Glenister, NPSA director of safety solutions, said: "It was clear to us that with many different types of these complex devices in use in modern healthcare systems, and no standard approach to purchasing, storing and maintaining them, it was inevitable that staff would make mistakes."

The NPSA is recommending that trusts review how they buy in infusion devices, and reduce the number of different types they use.

It is also calling for better staff training in their use, and is developing an e-learning programme for all staff who use them.

David Edwards is chief executive of Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, one of the trusts which took part in the research.

He said: "Actively managing the way we use and store infusion devices not only makes a safer environment for patients and life easier for staff, but it also brings efficiency savings with fewer devices lying unused."