Last Updated on March 20, 2018

NHS England has announced plans to introduce care home pharmacists to help cut overmedication and unnecessary hospital stays for frail older patients following successful trials.

Around 180,000 people living in care homes and care homes with nursing will have their prescriptions and medicines reviewed by the new pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

Elderly care home residents often have one or more long-term health conditions, such as dementia, hypertension, diabetes or heart disease, and on average are being prescribed seven medicines daily, but it can be more, with around 10% of people aged 75 and over currently being prescribed 10 or more medicines.

NHS trials have identified that when pharmacists reviewed medicines it improved people’s quality of life by reducing unnecessary use and bringing down emergency admissions, with less time spent in hospitals.

The use of clinical pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to undertake structured medicines reviews of all new and discharged care home residents in Northumberland showed that one hospital readmission could be avoided for every 12 residents reviewed.

In East and North Hertfordshire, where this model was applied across 37 care homes, an annual drug cost saving of £249 per patient was seen.

Results from the six NHS England care homes vanguard sites piloting this approach show that they:

• Reduced reported emergency hospital admissions by 21%.
• Reduced oral nutritional support usage by 7%.
• Reduced ambulance call outs by up to 30%.
• Made drug cost savings of £125 to £305 per resident.

As a result of these trials, NHS England will roll out the approach by funding recruitment of 240 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. The reviews will be done in co-ordination with GPs and practice-based clinical pharmacists to ensure people are prescribed the right medicines, at the right time, in the right way to improve their health and overall quality of life.

The roll-out of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians into care homes is part of the NHS England plan Refreshing NHS Plans for 2018/19 which sets out measures to provide joined-up services for patients to ensure they receive care in the most appropriate place.