Over medication in care homes

NHS seeks to tackle over-medication in older people’s care homes

An army of experts have been recruited by NHS England to help prevent care home residents being given too many medicines as part of a package of measures to improve older people’s health and care in the NHS Long Term Plan.

Care home residents are prescribed an average of seven medicines a day, with many taking 10 or more, costing the NHS an estimated £250 million each year, with charities voicing fears that a generation of older people is being subjected to a ‘chemical cosh’.

The NHS is putting in place medical and clinical experts, including 200 new clinical pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, who will support care home residents to improve quality of life, cut hospital stays and reduce over-medication.

You can find the full details of the NHS England announcement about this here:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2019/05/army-of-nhs-experts-to-tackle-over-medication/