Medication
in care homes
Social Care Workforce Research Unit and CPA
King’s College London
26 May 2011
Des Kelly OBE
Executive Director
National Care Forum
Developing an integrated approach to
medication safety in care homes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Why this project now?
What care home staff say?
Aims and intended outcomes
Our approach and task groups
Success criteria
1. Why this project now?
Why this project now?
• Following up CHUMS findings and
recommendations
• On-going quality concerns
• Diversity of the sector and of advice
• Lack of detailed practical standards
2. What care home staff say?
• The time it takes to manage and
administer medicines
• Receiving and logging medication
• Interruptions
• Understanding the purpose of medicines
What care home staff say?
• Reviews
• Disposal and spoilt medicines
• Dealing with refusals
• Understanding side effects
What care home staff say?
• Drugs trolleys
• Locums and out of hours support
• Variable views about MDS
• Self medication
What care home staff say?
• Communication …
between the care home,
G.P.s, nurses and pharmacists
3. Aims and intended outcomes
• Sector-led
• Multi-disciplinary: G.P.s; community
pharmacists; care home managers and
frontline staff
• Practical
• Cost effective
4. Our approach
• Open Space principles of passion and
responsibility
• Without passion nobody is interested
• Without responsibility nothing gets done
Our approach
5 initial ‘Task Groups’:
• Improving multidisciplinary
communications and relationships
• Ensuring resident voice, choice and control
• Leadership to change culture and practice
• Staff development and support
• Standards and guidance
Our approach
• Link to Health Foundation/Age UK work
• Mapping related activity
• Collecting information on resources and
best practice
• The role of technology
5. Success criteria
• Reducing the number of adverse events
• Reduction in incidence of A&E
attendances, admissions and readmissions
from care homes
• Reduction in avoidable deaths
• Reduction in incidence of complications
such as infections
Success criteria
• Improvements in the level of support to
care homes by G.P.s and pharmacists
• Improved levels of awareness and
competence by staff in care homes
• Greater engagement by residents and
their families
• Improved quality of care and support
And finally…
“People who think they can
and people who think they
can’t are both right”
Henry Ford