Lib Dems say medicines still over-used in care homes
Most elderly people prescribed antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes are given the drugs inappropriately, according to a report published last week by Paul Burstow, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Health.
The report, “Keep taking the medicine 2”, which updates one
published in 2001, concludes that up to 22,233 elderly people in nursing
homes in England are being sedated for no medical reason. It adds that
there has been a 6.2 per cent increase in community prescriptions for
antipsychotic drugs between 1999 and 2002.
Furthermore, it points out that 6,208 of England’s 8,748 GP practices
failed to establish annual and six-monthly reviews of medication for
people over 75 years by April 2002, the target date set out in the National
Service Framework for Older People. “Medicine review is a reality
in less than a third of GP practices and the frequency of reviews at
12 and six months remains insufficient to guarantee the safety and quality
of life of elderly people,” the report states.
Commenting on the report’s findings, Mr Burstow said: “With
serious shortages of specialist staff and little chance of attracting
more, the evidence is that care homes are turning to chemical cocktails
to make residents easier to manage.
“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.” |
