Latest British National Formulary is 'essential guide' to medication in care homes

A study found that half of care home residents are at risk of harm from errors made when giving out their medication, which is why it is vital that care home staff rigorously follow up to date guidance.

The latest edition of the British National Formulary (BNF) will be published on 6 March, a publication that ensures all health professionals are working to the most up to date knowledge about the administration and management of medicines.

The BNF is published twice a year by the Pharmaceutical Press and is a compulsory text for all NHS professionals, with over 250,000 copies sent out across the NHS every six months.

However for the 90 per cent of care homes which are privately run, the responsibility is with managers to ensure any staff involved in the administration of drugs consult an up-to-date BNF before carrying out their work.

James Rapson of www.pharmacybooks.co.uk, an online seller of the most recent BNF 69, said: “New drugs and generics are licensed all the time and keeping up to date is nigh on impossible without a BNF. In an ever more litigious society, ensuring that staff are working with up-to-date information is vital and the regulatory bodies are keen to see that best practice is being followed in this area during their inspections.”

The book provides practical guidance for care professionals on the prescribing, dispensing and administering of medicines. It also outlines legal and professional guidelines about the uses of drugs, including direction on the use of medicines to manage common conditions.

The relative costs, doses, side effects, cautions and the uses of medicines is also outlined by the BNF and is used over three million times a week across the NHS.

The CQC recently began its new inspection regime and as part of the five areas judged by the CQC, a care home’s medication management is included in checks to find out how safe the home is.

Of the 54 care homes rated inadequate by the new CQC ratings (as of 26 Feb 2015), unacceptable medication management and control was cited in the reports of 39 failing care homes.

The CQC stated in one report ‘Staff had limited knowledge of the medication people were prescribed and its effects.’

Care home owners are being urged to ensure their copy of the BNF is no longer than a year old to ensure best practice is taking place.

The BNF 69 is officially recommended by the Care Home Medicines Management Checklist and helps care homes meet the CQC guidance criteria of having ‘up to date’ information. Guidance from NICE also confirms health and social care professionals should be able to access reliable information about medicines and cite the BNF as a resource for health professionals to use.

Online bookshop www.pharmacybooks.co.uk is offering a 10 per cent discount on the new edition, which comes out on 6 March 2015 and has a 50 per cent reduction on recycled BNF 68 books.

Mr Rapson of the online bookshop said: “The British National Formulary (BNF) is an essential reference guide for anyone administering medication in a residential care setting and is used over 3 million times a week in the NHS alone.

“The BNF publishes twice a year in March & September and the majority of homes we work with update at least once a year."

“However private homes do not receive one and as they represent 90 per cent of all care homes, owners and managers should be aware that the latest edition (BNF 69) is available from 6 March 2015.”

To order a copy of the BNF 69 please visit: www.pharmacybooks.co.uk