Medicines Safety Week 2025 – We Can All Make Medicines Safer
As we mark this year’s Medicines Safety Week under the theme “We Can All Make Medicines Safer”, we are shining a light on the collective responsibility we share in prioritising patient safety, particularly for vulnerable residents in care homes. Falls among care home residents remain a significant concern, often resulting in serious injury, loss of independence, and increased hospital admissions. This Medicines Safety Week, we are celebrating the impact of our STOPPFall medication review service—demonstrating how a collaborative, proactive approach can make medicines safer for everyone.
What Is the STOPPFall Medication Review?
The STOPPFall medication review is designed to put patient safety at the forefront. Rather than a routine medication review, this responsive service is triggered when a resident has experienced a fall and the medication may be a contributing factor. Once a fall is reported to Immedicare, our clinicians swiftly determine whether a medication review is warranted, ensuring that those most at risk receive the urgent attention they need. By acting promptly, we help prevent further incidents and work with the home to reduce the residents falls risk.
How the Service Works: A Shared Commitment to Safety
Our pharmacy team conducts a thorough review of each resident’s medical records and works hand-in-hand with care home staff, whose insights and daily observations are invaluable. The resident’s personal preferences, unique risk factors, and circumstances are always central to our assessments. This collaborative, person-centred approach means every recommendation is tailored and relevant, ensuring that medicines are managed as safely as possible.
Once all information is gathered, the team provides clear, individualised medication advice to the resident’s GP surgery. These recommendations carefully balance the risks and benefits of each medicine, always placing the resident’s wellbeing at the heart of decision-making.
Evaluating the Impact: Real Results for Residents
Between July 2024 and January 2025, our pharmacy team completed and evaluated 250 STOPPFall medication reviews. The results highlight the power of prioritising safety through collaborative action:
- 146 STOPPFall reviews were acted upon by primary care colleagues, leading to medicines being reduced or stopped where appropriate.
- Where medication changes were made following pharmacy review, 46% of these residents experienced a reduction in falls within the following two months.
- This translated to a relative risk (RR) of 0.54 (95% confidence interval 0.32–0.90) among 250 participants, with a p-value of 0.018—statistically significant evidence that targeted medication review can make a real difference in reducing harm.
Putting Residents First: Making Medicines Safer, Together
The success of the STOPPFall service is rooted in its patient-centred and collaborative ethos. By engaging care home staff and listening to residents’ own preferences, we ensure all changes are not only safe but also acceptable and meaningful. This Medicines Safety Week, we are proud to share these positive outcomes and encourage others to embrace proactive, evidence-led medication safety initiatives.
Ultimately, making medicines safer is a responsibility we all share. By working together—pharmacy teams, care home staff, clinicians, residents and their families—we can continue to reduce avoidable harm and improve the quality of life for everyone living in care homes.
