Half of care homes fail to meet medication standards for elderly - Burstow

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 9th Aug 2005

Almost half of all care homes for the elderly failed to meet national standards for handling medication last year putting the lives of thousands of old and frail people at risk, according to figures uncovered by Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow.

Figures show that more than one in ten care homes for older people failed to meet basic standards for medication by some margin and a further third "almost met" the standards set by the Government.

1,068 care homes failed to meet the standards for handling medicines by a significant degree; with a further 3,636 of older peoples care homes almost meeting the standards.

The figures also revealed just 12 in every 1,000 care homes exceeded the minimum standards for distributing medicine to their elderly residents.

The national minimum standards cover procedures for storage, administering and disposal of medicines.

The standards also state that care home staff should monitor the condition of the residents on medication and contact a GP if they become concerned about any change in condition that may be a result of medication. In addition the standards call for staff to prompt the review of residents' medication on a regular basis.

Liberal Democrat member of the Health Select Committee, Paul Burstow MP, said:-

"These figures paint shocking picture of poor practice. The way in which medication is handled in a care home can make a huge difference to the quality of life of older people. Poor practice and incompetence in handling medication can put the lives of older people at risk.

"With evidence of inappropriate and over medication in some care homes the fact that so many care homes have failed to meet even minimum medication standards is appalling.

"With over 5000 homes not meeting standards, the Government must take action to tackle this problem urgently."