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We examined 80 CQC inspection reports from a range of different services (rated as outstanding to inadequate from August to December 2023). This allowed us to rank the most commonly inspected areas fo...
CQC inspect against NICE guidelines (1) that state, that in care homes, a witness is needed when: Staff members add (or amend) medicines on medicines administration records (MARs), and when controlled...
Regulation 18 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 states there needs to be sufficient numbers of trained staff available, but gives no more detail than that. Hence, CQC refer to NICE guidelines whi...
With the increasing temperatures the UK now faces in the summer, do you need to take any action with your medicine storage? Note: this advice applies to care homes and schools. In a person’s own...
With the risk that COVID-19 might affect the availability of medicines, NHS England issued new guidance for care homes allowing them to re-use medicines between residents, rather than destroy them or ...
In January, Boots announced they’ll no longer supply blister packs (or as we pharmacists call them – monitored dosage systems) to care homes: both new and existing ones. Lloyds pharmacy follow...
Gabapentin and pregabalin were reclassified as controlled drugs (CDs) back in April 2019, yet many health and social care providers still seem unsure how to treat them. Are they controlled drugs? In s...
If you find this article useful, sign up for updates when new articles are published (on the left hand side or bottom of the screen for mobiles). Emollients are moisturising creams, ointments, lotions...
Summary NICE guidelines fail to give clear advice on whether room temperatures need monitoring for medicines stored in care homes. We recommend that care homes in England should follow the same advice...
In this update, I will cover which types of medication error need reporting to the CQC and safeguarding, as well as how to investigate and learn from medication errors. If you find this article useful...
Summary: Following new advice from NICE (March 2017) for community settings [1], all medicines support provided to a person should be recorded on a medicines chart. NICE may apply this to care homes w...
Recent Court of Protection Ruling on Covert Medication – 6th July 2016 A recent Court of Protection ruling on the administration of covert medication has implications for all care settings. In this...
Some manufacturers state that for certain items like creams, oral liquids, eye drops etc. the product must be discarded X days or months after first opening. If this is the case, the manufacturer will...