Overhaul pharmaceutical care says new report

A new report is calling for radical changes to the way in which pharmaceutical care is provided in care homes in Scotland.

The report, by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in Scotland, calls for:

Dedicated roles for pharmacists that are integrated with those of other health professionals working in care homes
The sharing of clinical information and prescribing data with pharmacists working in care homes to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines
A reduction in the use of psychoactive medication and more frequent reviews of medication to improve patient safety and care
Greater consideration to be afforded the one pharmacist and one GP per care home model to improve the quality of pharmaceutical care and foster better teamwork

Alex MacKinnon, Director of RPS in Scotland said: "This report is a significant contribution to the national debate surrounding how we look after our frail older people. We need to make major improvements in how medicines are used and have set out what we believe are the most important changes required.

"Stating our priorities in no way detracts from the wider agenda of ensuring that all medicines are safely and effectively used when treating frail older people and that this issue needs to be tackled systematically and comprehensively."

Age Scotland spokesman Lindsay Scott said: "This report makes a lot of sense. With increasing numbers of frail older people living with long-term conditions and increasingly complex care requirements, many of them with palliative care needs, an increasing number of care homes are providing aspects of care that historically would have been provided in hospital. We believe they should be resourced and managed as such."

The working group that produced the report examined different models of care both in the UK and abroad and found good models both at home and further afield that can be built upon.

The RPS wants to work together with the Scottish Government, NHS Scotland, Social Care, care home providers, GPs, nurses and all health professionals in care homes at national, regional and local levels to utilise pharmacists' expertise to deliver more and better person-centred care.