Standardising liquid medicine strengths to improve paediatric medication safety

Steve Tomlin, Director of the Children’s Medicines Research & Innovation Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital, discusses the challenge of multiple liquid medicine strengths and the importance of standardization in paediatric medication safety. The discussion highlights that, despite a move toward using tablets in children whenever possible, liquid medicines remain widely used and often come in a confusing array of concentrations—sometimes up to 14 different strengths for a single medicine. Tomlin explains that this variability leads to confusion for parents and carers, who may receive different strengths from various pharmacies or hospital departments. He advocates for standardizing to just one or two strengths for each liquid medicine, suitable for all ages from neonates to adults. The goal of this approach is to simplify dosing, reduce errors, and ultimately improve safety. Tomlin also details ongoing efforts to create a formulary of recommended concentrations and encourages the industry to support this standardization by licensing fewer strengths. This interview took place at the RCPCH conference 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland.