Tuesday February 7, 2006

Guardian, UK

More than 200,000 people living in care homes across England are at risk of being given thewrong medication due to lax behaviour among the staff, government inspectors warned last night.The Commission for Social Care Inspection said 8,000 nursing and care homes failed tomeet national minimum standards for handling drugs prescribed for residents. The commission said:”Around 210,000 people live in these 8,000 homes.The commission gave the example of a care home resident who was prescribed antibiotics on aThursday evening, but did not get them until the following Tuesday afternoon. As a result,the resident had to be admitted to hospital.Mr Byrne, who will address the Skills for Care conference today, will also announce a£600,000 joint research project with Comic Relief to look at the problem of elder abuse.Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,5393250-110418,00.html************************************************************************************************

February 7, 2006