NCS report: poor medication puts lives at risk

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 17th Mar 2004

Commenting on the National Care Standards Report which sets out evidence that older people and children are being put at risk through poor medication practice in care homes, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Paul Burstow, MP said:

"This report is simply shocking. It is unacceptable that poor practice on

medication is putting the lives of older people and children at risk.

"With 2600 homes not meeting standards, the Government must take action to tackle this problem immediately.

"This is not simply about the way medicines are administered. Drugs are being prescribed by GPs when they are unlicensed for the treatment of older people for dementia. There needs to be much better monitoring of whether these drugs are being used for the benefit of patients or for the ease of staff.

"The news last week of the risk of stroke to older people taking certain drugs underlines the need for a proper review of this situation."

Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Older People, Sandra Gidley MP, said:

"The Government must act on this issue. This report proves that the

current system is not working. Better training for staff is only one side of the issue. It is up to social services buying these services to act in the best interests of their patients.

"Given that the statistics in the regulated sector leave a lot to be desired we should be doubly concerned about the unregulated sector of extra care and care at home which the Government seems hell bent on promoting. We ignore these warning signs at our peril.

"We need a concerted effort to tackle these problems. More frequent reviews of medication in care homes, better documentation of prescribing, tougher requirements on the number of trained staff, and a new criminal offence of neglect of a vulnerable adult are the essential components of a strategy to tackle the abuse of older people." ENDS