Care Home Charter for Medicines

The Patients Association's Care Home Charter for Medicines was developed to improve how care homes across the UK manage the medicines their residents need to keep well.

Residents of care homes can use the Charter to be actively involved in decisions about their care. It also provides a guideline for care home staff to follow in order to improve a home's medication practices.

The Charter was developed in collaboration with experts in health and social care. It was piloted in 22 care homes across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2017 and 2018. It has been endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) among other organisations.

On this page you can find out more about the Charter and download various resources:

The Charter is supported or endorsed by the following organisations:

British Geriatrics Society
Care England
Care Quality Commission
Community Pharmacy Patient Safety Group
Jewish Care
National Care Forum
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Queens Nursing Institute
Royal College of General Practitioners
Royal College of Nursing
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Help to monitor medicines

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) can occur in the home and in the healthcare setting.The University of Swansea has developed The Adverse Drug Reaction Profile (ADRe), for use by nursing staff. It helps nurses recognise and act on adverse drug reaction, including pain, dental pain, aggression, peptic ulcers, and sedation. ADRe has been developed with nursing professionals to help nursing staff take a structured approach to the monitoring of medicines. The developers of ADRe say it greatly enhances the administration of medicines, and by capturing an individualised picture of patients’ health and well-being,prompts prescribers to refine dosages.

Was this information useful? Let us know by completing this short survey.

Contact the Patients Association helpline

The Patients Association offers a free national helpline providing specialist information and advice to help patients make sense of their health and social care.

Patients can talk directly to trained advisers in strict confidence about any concerns, questions or general experiences they have regarding the NHS and social care systems.

The helpline is open from 9.30 am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and calls outside these times are returned as soon as possible during opening hours.

This information was updated on 21st February 2022 and will be reviewed in August 2023.

Latest

The Patients Association annual general meeting 2022

Join us to hear about our work in 2021 and plans for the rest of this year, at this year's annual general meeting.
The patient voice: The secret weapon against superbugs

Last year, we held an advisory board with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to discuss how patients could be more involved in the fight against superbugs. Highlights from the meeting are now available. They include suggestions on how important patient partnership is when treating patients with serious infections and the need to look at the threat of superbugs from the patient’s point of view.
PVM Blog: NHS must provide accessible information

Ray is a member of Patient Voices Matter, our lived experience group. He does not feel the NHS is good at listening to patients or providing accessible information.
PVM Blog: Cancer diagnosis led to patient advocacy

Tara developed breast cancer when her children were very young. Her experiences led her to join service user groups, and from there she has spent decades advocating for other patients, including now with Patient Voices Matter

The patient voice: The secret weapon against superbugs

Last year, we held an advisory board with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to discuss how patients could be more involved in the fight against superbugs. Highlights from the meeting are now available. They include suggestions on how important patient partnership is when treating patients with serious infections and the need to look at the threat of superbugs from the patient’s point of view.
Patient partnership is needed to heal the rupture between patients and the NHS

Lucy Watson, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Rachel Power, Chief Executive, reflect on a difficult week for patients.
Maternity services must listen to patients to avoid repeating failures identified in Ockenden Report

The Ockenden Report details massive failings in care and repeated failure to investigate serious incidents, even death at one English trust. Other services must learn from this report to keep women and babies safe.
Information for patients thinking about using private healthcare

If you are considering private care, maybe for the first time, we have worked with the Independent Healthcare Providers Network to create information to help you understand how to access and pay for private healthcare.
Patients Association statement on Panorama programme, Maternity Scandal: Fighting for the Truth

On 23rd February 2022, BBC 1's Panorama reported on failures in maternity care at hospitals in Shropshire. The programme featured families affected by the failings as well as former midwife, Donna Ockenden, who is leading an official inquiry into what went wrong at the Trust.
The Patients Association sounds alarm over Government’s Living with COVID proposals

The Government's decision to lift all protection measures risks patients' health and the possible return to more normal waiting times.
Improving your nutritional health

Having a a medical condition or illness can put some people at risk of disease-related malnutrition. Symptoms include losing weight without trying, feeling weak or lacking in energy. We've developed resources that explain more about this health problem and what you can do to better manage your nutritional health.
World Patient Safety Day

The theme of this year's World Patient Safety Day is maternal and newborns safety. The UK is a safe place to give birth, but there are variations in quality and safety across the country for mums to be.
PHSO – the facts and evidence

This article explores how we examined the available evidence when devising our new position statement on PHSO.
What to expect from private healthcare

The Patients Association worked with the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) to offer advice on what patients should expect from independent healthcare.