Managing medicines safely

Medicines Management is a big topic and something that involves us all, it’s important that we do it right and do it well.

We have come a long way on our improvement journey since the last CQC inspection in April 2019 which highlighted several important areas for improvement.  For more detail you can read the report here.

When it comes to Medicines Management the CQC primarily focus on issues of safety and the last inspection highlighted some areas for improvement. These included things like a lack of consistent safety systems when prescribing, administering, recording, documenting and storing medication, inconsistent completion of CD bag audit forms and ambient temperature checks not being carried out where medicines were stored.

As a team, we have been working through these and other improvement areasto ensure things have improved and are continuing to do so.  You can see full details of all the problem areas below and the action we’re currently taking, and are planning to take, in order to address them.

We are always available to answer any questions you have and would love to hear your feedback on anything to do with medicines or medicines management. Please get in touch via the our inbox: medicinemanagement@eastamb.nhs.uk. 

Thank you for your continued support.

Areas for improvement as highlighted by the CQC inspection in 2019

Areas of concern	What we've done	Next steps
The service did not consistently follow safety systems when prescribing, administering, recording, documenting and storing medication.	The Trust now has systems and processes in place to safely prescribe, administer, record and store medicines. This is achieved through the new pouch system rolled out trust wide in May 2021.	The medicines management policy is currently under review. The roll out of the new ePCR will assist with real time audit of compliance with the prescribing, administration and recording of medicines going forward.
Patient group directives were mostly out of date by approximately one month at the time of inspection.	All PGD’s are in the process of review by an external provider with a planned implementation date of 31 October 2021.	Plans include the provision of electronic access for staff to all PGDs to allow timely dissemination and access to information
CD bag audit forms were inconsistently completed.	The process for CD management changed in 2019 to shift based CD pouches with only LOMs responsible for stock replenishment and auditing.	The Trust continues to monitor CD stock levels at local levels. Audits demonstrate an improvement in compliance of CD management to over 90% in all areas.
Ambient temperature checks were not performed where medicines were stored.	At present, several stations have been identified as having concerns around temperature control. At present, estates are working with the medicines management team to rectify any areas of non-compliance.	The medicines management team will continue to review and monitor ongoing temperature control throughout trust premises and vehicles.
Medicine and compressed gas storage facilities on vehicles was secure.	The Trust continues to spot check security around the storage of medical gases and medicines on trust property and vehicles.	In the future, the medicines management team are hoping to make use of a medical gases tracking system to enable oversight of stick and minimise loss of cylinders.
Good management of medicines related incidents.	The Trust continues to manage medicines related incidents in a robust manner through use and review of datix trust wide.	Whilst the medicines management team have noted an increase in the number of medicines related incidents, harm remains low. The team will continue to identify and monitor themes and trends, taking relevant action where required.