HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2017: Improving Safety in Medicines Management

HMP Stafford has an ageing population with high medication needs. Repeat prescription requests were generated by numerous and varied staff, leading to errors and poor stock management.

Angela Owen, a healthcare assistant, took ownership and responsibility of repeat prescriptions, creating a new process of which she has oversight. She trained the rest of the team, and is sharing her initiative across Care UK’s wider prison network.

Her work decreased medication errors by 84 per cent, restored stock medication to safe limits, and reduced patient raised concerns from 12 per month to 0. She has also been praised by NHS England’s Regional Pharmacy Advisor.

This project is an example of great team work who have clearly delivered a real change to the community. The outcomes have real benefit and if rolled out the potential impact is massive.

Highly commended was The Schoolhouse Surgery.