St Peter's Hospice

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

We reviewed medicine optimisation for the safe key question. The service provided the safe management of medicines and the security of medicines being used in the hospice was in line with national guidance. Staff reported and investigated medication errors, where necessary new processes had been implemented to prevent further incidents occurring. Staff and leaders discussed incidents within the medicines management meetings and hospice governance meetings, this ensured investigations and learning was actioned. All incidents were escalated to staff to promote understanding and consolidate training.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Learning culture during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Safe systems, pathways and transitions during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Safeguarding during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Involving people to manage risks during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Safe environments during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Safe and effective staffing during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Infection prevention and control during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

Medicines management meetings and governance meetings were reviewed during our assessment. These reflected new practices and implementation of processes following medication incidents. Policies were in place for medicines management within the hospice. There was also a protocol for the safe dispensing of medicines. This meant medicines were managed in a safe way for the benefit of people who were inpatients and community patients. The service had a policy for medicines bought into the premises. Prescribing stationery was stored securely and tracked in line with national guidance. A recent incident highlighted that improvements were required in relation to the delivery of prescribing stationary when accepting the order. A standard operating procedure has been updated to reflect this.

Staff received and kept up to date with their medicine management training. Methods of training could be on-line or face to face; staff received reminders when medication training was due. Staff received training in medicines management. Assessment competencies reviewed during our assessment were in line with national guidance. Educational needs relating to medicine calculation assessments had been implemented for the appropriate staff to facilitate their understanding. The service had systems to ensure staff knew about safety alerts and incidents, to ensure patients received their medicines safely. Incidents involving medicines were investigated and actions to improve practice were monitored to prevent a recurrence of the incidents. Staff reported medication errors and analysed them for trends. Implementation of new policies and standard operating procedures reflected that learning had been identified and acted upon. The service had been liaising with an external safeguarding agency regarding the reporting of medication incidents and the development of a dashboard relating to trends identified and scoring against other hospice services. The service had a controlled drugs accountable officer. The accountable officer is responsible for the management of controlled drugs and related governance issues in the organisation.