Making care safer

This report collects together the testimony given by family and carers of people living in a care home, specifically around issues of medication safety. Three day-long focus groups were held in 2010, in Manchester, Birmingham and London. In total 26 people attended the events. Members of the group also shared testimony they had collected from fellow carers.

During the focus groups, attendees were invited to tell their stories and think about ways to improve medication safety in care homes. They were asked to consider what improvements would be possible in practice given the current culture and constraints, and what could be done strategically in the longer term.

The issues and potential solutions raised by the groups are presented in this report under four main headings:

• communication and information sharing
• prescribing and administration of medication
• staff development and support
• advocacy and rights.