Two patients die after drug overdose

BIRMINGHAM, England, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A British hospital is investigating the deaths of two cancer patients who were given five times the normal dose of medication.

The two men, ages 35 and 36, died within hours of each other last month after receiving the medication at Heartland Hospital in Birmingham, the Birmingham Mail said Thursday.

Hospital officials said an internal inquiry is under way to determine if the dosage error played a role in the deaths.

"We are carrying out a detailed investigation into the clinical care given to both of these patients," Dr. Mark Goldman, chief executive of Heartland Hospital, said in a statement. "This will be presented to both families and to the Birmingham coroner, and it will form part of the coroner's inquiries."

A source told the newspaper the medication was a drug used to ease the grueling side effects of cancer treatment.