Care Home Resource Hub
This page hosts local and national resources to support care homes to deliver medicines optimisation.
Resources on this page will support care homes to implement the recommendations within NICE SC1 – Managing Medicines in Care Homes. See baseline assessment tool which can be populated and used to assess current adherence and help to address any potential opportunities to improve care.
Click here to access the on-line reporting site for the Yellow Card Scheme, here you can report suspected side effects (also known as adverse drug reactions) to a medicine, vaccine, herbal or complementary remedy. The Yellow Card Scheme, run by the MHRA and the Commission on Human Medicines, is used to collect information from both health professionals and the general public on suspected side effects.
Ordering and receiving medicines
- Monthly ordering process - review date June 2027
- Guide to Eye Drop Quantities – review extended to September 2023
- PrescQIPP – How to manage insulin supplies guidance on how many insulin vials or cartridges should be supplied per month based on an individuals' daily insulin dose
End of Life (EOL) / Palliative care medication
- Stock issues - If your local pharmacy does not have EOL medicines in stock these pharmacies have been commissioned to keep the following medicines in stock. See link for information on suggested flow of how to access end of life medicines in the community.
Accessing Subcutaneous fluid for your residents - review June 2022
Nutrition in End of Life Care - Leaflet for carers - review November 2025
Storage
- Expiry dates- review July 2027
- Storage of medicines in hot weather – review June 2025
- SPS - Which medicines could cause problems for patients during a heatwave
Medicines administration support (See SPS for more information /resources)
- Covert administration of medication;
- PRN when required medication - review date extended to April 2024
- Swallowing difficulties (SPS) - advice on using medicines safely and effectively in patients with swallowing difficulties
- Management of Thickening Agents (Poster) – review date September 2027
- Body chart
- Body Chart for Patches
Disposal of medicines and waste reduction
- PrescQIPP
- Bulletin 255 - Prevent Medicine Waste Campaigns - inhalers, insulin, ONS (sip feeds) and general campaign
- Cytotoxic and cytostatic drugs disposal - Review date June 2024
General guidance/resources to support medicines optimisation
- Acute Prescriptions -Review date June 2027
- Bulk prescribing- review date extended to April 2024
- Homely remedies- review date extended to April 2024
- Pro-forma for Prescriber Amendments to Medication – review date extended to September 2023
- Transcribing medication details onto MAR charts - review July 2023
- Self Care – The CQC support the use of Homely Remedies and resident access to Over the Counter (OTC) medicines to enable self care in people living in care homes.
Controlled drugs
- CD guidance - review date December 2025
- Reporting of CD incidents - pathway
Condition specific resources;
- Anticoagulation
- Anticoagulant therapy (warfarin) in the care home setting - review date extended to May 2023
- Warfarin quick reference guide - review date extended to March 2023
- Antipsychotics in people living with dementia (NICE KTT7)
- A person living with dementia should only try an antipsychotic if they are at risk of harming themselves or others, or if they are severely distressed. The antipsychotic should be tried alongside other activities to try to help their distress. Environmental and clinical causes to distress should be ruled out. Non-pharmacological support should be offered as initial and ongoing management and continued need for antipsychotic reviewed regularly. See link for other useful resources.
- Dysphagia: This is a free learning resource designed to support knowledge and understanding of the management of dysphagia for health and social care workforce. The Health Education England e-LfH Dysphagia Guide is an e-learning resource made up of 5 e-learning sessions which cover the following topics:
- Essentials
- Training and Resources
- Food
- Quality and Safety
- Workforce
- Influenza
- Sheffield In-season Influenza outbreak protocol for care homes
- Sheffield Out of season Influenza outbreak protocol for care homes
- Nutritional support
- Malnutrition and oral nutritional prescribing (adults)
- Food based alternatives to ONS- Pictorial guides
- Drinks and snacks -December 2026
- Desserts - December 2026
- Pain relief and illicit substances
- Illicit substances - review date December 2025
- Transdermal Opioid patch (fentanyl and buprenorphine) guidance
- Respiratory
- Guidance on managing a COPD exacerbation in the Care Homes setting - review May 2027
- Spacer Guidance for Care Homes - review May 2027
- Skin/wound care
- Stopping the Over Medication in People with Learning Disabilities, autism or both (STOMPwLD)
- STOMP is a national project involving many different organisations who are helping to stop the over use of psychotropic medicines. See link for resources and to sign up to pledge to support STOMP
Also see the CCG medicines and prescribing page and shared care protocols pages for full list of local guidance.
Training and education
PrescQIPP are a Community Interest Company (a type of social enterprise) who operate on a not for profit basis for the benefit of NHS patients, commissioners and organisations. Sheffield CCG subscribes to PrescQIPP and commissions their care home training resource. This allows all Sheffield care home staff free access to their e-learning packages ‘Medicines Use in Care Homes’. The first and second of these are designed for care home staff involved in any aspect of medicines use; the third is for all care home staff involved in the administration of medicines. Each package takes 2 to 2.5 hours to complete but are designed to be completed in stages and not finished in one sitting.
In order to access the e-learning resources you need to be registered with PrescQIPP – sign up or log in here
Specialist pharmacy services (SPS) have developed a number of resources to support medicines optimisation in care homes, please filter by care home from left column. They also host other national resources and share ‘good practice’.
Medicines information - Advice and Support
Local pharmacy support
- The supplying community pharmacy should be able to answer any medication queries. There are also pharmacists and technicians that work in GP practices who can be used as a resource to answer queries around medicines and their use.
- You can also e-mail queries to the Care Homes team within Sheffield CCG medicines optimisation team sheffieldmedicinesincarehome@.nhs.net
- You can email queries to the Medicines Optimisation Practice Support Team
National pharmacy support
- SPS provide advice and support for Care home staff and residents, and the pharmacy teams supporting them.
- The Care Quality Commission produce medicines information for care homes
- The Royal Pharmaceutical Society have resources available to help pharmacy teams working with care homes. You need to be a member of the RPS to access these.
COVID-19 specific resources
NHSE/NHSI/DHSC - Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Re-use of medicines in a care home or hospice: This is a national SOP to support the re-use of medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the event of a medicines shortage please contact the Medicines Optimisation Team if you are considering the re-use of medicines.
SPS - Care Homes: Clinical pharmacy
SPS have summarised the medicines guidance available from a variety of professional and national bodies across a range of clinical specialities. Care home guidance can be found by filtering by Care Setting under the Guidance tab.
Administration considerations during COVID
- Moving from monitored dosage systems to original packs in care home - PrescQIPP