Family furious after grandmother is given 'seven times the recommended dosage' for powerful drug causing her insides to burn and leaving her in need of around the clock care

An outraged family has accused a pharmacy of making a mistake that forced their grandmother into a care home after medication burned her from the inside out. 

Lisa Carratelli accused the Melbourne pharmacy of incorrectly filling out the medication for her 87-year-old mother Maria over a year ago. 

Maria had been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis when she was prescribed methotrexate - a chemotherapy drug that is also used to treat cancer.

The grandmother's condition quickly spiralled with the medication burning her insides, causing her to lose hair and making her unable to look after herself.

Maria is now in a nursing home unable to walk or eat on her own.

Ms Carratelli accused the pharmacy of incorrectly prescribing the right dosage claiming her mother was given seven times the prescribed amount of the drug. 

Maria first started to complain about a sore throat, and went to Maroondah Hospital in Victoria after doctors' visits fell through. 

Doctors checked her Webster pack - a container with separate sections for days of the week - which is packed by pharmacists. 

The doctors were alarmed by what they discovered. 

'The hospital started questioning her medication and called the pharmacist,' Ms Carratelli told Yahoo. 

'She was supposed to take two [tablets] once a week but the pharmacy had packed the Webster packs with two tablets daily'. 

Ms Carratelli claimed the extra dosage had destroyed her mother's organs.

'It burnt all inside of her mouth and down her throat. She was in hospital for quite a long time,' she said. 

Maria was later sent to Box Hill Hospital, where her discharge document suggests the grandmother was experiencing 'methotrexate toxicity resulting in Mucositis with Pancytopenia', which is low levels of red blood cells. 

'Then she ended up in rehab for months before we had to put her in a nursing home because she's not been able to recover,' Ms Carratelli said.

Apart from burning her internally, Maria also lost her hair from the strong dose of the chemotherapy drug.

Her daughter has said her mother is 'very fragile,' and is convinced 'the pharmacist nearly killed her'.

The pharmacist, who Ms Carratelli does not want named, allegedly apologised, and sent the family flowers. 

He claimed he was not the one who filled the Webster pack and the family have not heard from him again. 

Ms Carratelli father is now forced to pay for his wife's care on a pension. 

'When you're on a pension, they don't really get a great deal [of money],' she said. 

The daughter, in an effort to prevent such mistakes happening again, sought legal advice, but was disappointed with multiple solicitor responses.

'They keep saying, because of her age, that there was nothing that they could do for us,' Ms Carratelli said. 

After contacting the Pharmacy Board of Australia to report what she thinks could be pharmaceutical malpractice, they told her the same thing.

'I'm not after any money or anything. I just want it not to happen to someone else,

'I want to help people to understand why they should always check the medication and not just trust the pharmacist.'

Her daughter knows the scenario could have been worse, acknowledging her gratitude the 87-year-old is still alive, but she furious the mistake could have been fatal.

'As they get older, it doesn't mean that they just get pushed aside,' she said. 

In Australia, using a double-checking system when dispensing medication is solely regulated by a pharmacist. 

Currently, two pharmacists are not required for the dispensing of medicines. 

'When dispensing medicines, pharmacists should be guided by professional practice standards, the Pharmacy Board of Australia's code of conduct and guidelines for pharmacists,' an Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency spokesperson said.

including guidelines for dispensing of medicines and Guidelines on dose administration aids and staged supply of dispensed medicines.'