RPS England champions pharmacists working with care homes to STPs

RPS England has been working to open doors for pharmacy by ensuring the benefits the profession can bring are better understood within local and national NHS organisations.

The third briefing in our series for Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) in England focuses on the improvements in quality of care that pharmacists and their teams bring to care home residents, care home providers and the NHS.

It has been circulated by NHS England to all 44 STPs, which are the partnerships between local NHS organisations and councils responsible for creating plans to improve health and care in the areas they serve.

The briefing highlights how pharmacists in care homes:

• Improve medicines safety by ensuring appropriate use of antipsychotics
• Reduce admissions to hospital
• Reduce health risks by improving care when patients move between care providers
• Support end of life care

The briefing can be used with STPs to outline key leverage points for involving pharmacy in care homes.