Call to give pharmacists more say in care homes

Published on Sunday 5 September 2010 15:36

Medication errors in old people's homes could be avoided if pharmacists were put in charge, new research has suggested.

A trial found a 91 per cent drop in mistakes over the course of four months when a pharmacist was given full responsibility for medicine management in a care home.

Elderly people living in homes are more vulnerable to medication errors than those in other settings, such as hospitals. A range of staff, including doctors, nurses and care home staff, can look after medicines and oversee their distribution to patients.

Research carried out in a 69-bed care home found improving communication and training between staff - including doctors, nurses, the head of the nursing home and pharmacists - helped cut down errors.

Pharmacy records were placed under continuous review and weekly visits were carried out.

The results showed putting a pharmacist in charge led to far fewer errors in areas such as medication type, dosage and records not being kept up to date. The total number of errors in these areas fell from 138 to 12.

The study followed research last November that showed people living in care homes were being put at risk because of sub-standard systems for handing out medicine.

University of London experts found seven in ten residents had been victims of drug errors, having carried out snapshot inspections of 55 homes. They blamed inadequate information, over-worked staff, poor teamwork and often complex courses of medication.

The latest study was presented by postgraduate researcher Majghan Saeed at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's conference in London. Society spokeswoman Nina Barnett said: "A 'whole systems' approach gives pharmacists the ability to deliver a safer service to patients."