Health checks at care homes to cut down on ‘drug cocktails’

PHARMACISTS will be sent to carry out checks on care homes amid fears pensioners are being oversubscribed with medicines.

Health officials say up to four in 10 hospital admissions could be avoided if the elderly were given the right care, without the overuse of medication.

Around 400,000 people are in nursing and residential homes in England, each taking an average of seven types of medication daily. Health chiefs are concerned that they are spending years on cocktails of such drugs, leaving them sedated or exposed to sideeffects. They fear over-medication may risk lives and fuel the boom in hospital admissions. Care home residents spend around two million days in hospital annually, and account for around 250,000 emergency hospital admissions.

NHS England said today pharmacists and technicians will go to care homes to review the intake of medicines and help improve quality of life, cut hospital stays and reduce over-medication.

Prof Alistair Burns, of NHS England, said: “Older people deserve the best possible support and with many care home residents living with complex conditions, bringing in expert health advice will mean the NHS can reduce avoidable drug use, improve care and free vital funding for better treatment.”

A pilot scheme introduced in Nottingham saw a 44 per cent drop in the number of ambulances called out to care homes. Previously, residents in care homes were all linked to different doctors’ surgeries – now each home is linked to one practice.