ESPOPF
Eastleigh Southern Parishes Older People's Forum
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Pills and Perils"Pills & Perils" is another ground-breaking piece of research by the ESPOPF Researchers. It is a telling indictment of the administration of repeat drugs for older patients and the lack of awareness of professionals. It is a survey of the problems of 845 ESPOPF members who are on repeat medication. It uses questionnaires, interviews and photographs as the research tools. Much of the research consists of quotations from older people who describe, in their own words, the problems they face. There is a fascinating brief history of repeat prescribing - from the apothecary's jars to the NHS Spine. Click here to download:
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An excellent piece of
An excellent piece of research...... researched the area of repeat prescriptions to 845 older people across the country.
They have received a bursary from the GOSE EHRC partnership of 3k to research the information needs of older people across the whole county of Hampshire. A report will be available from June 2010.
Gerry Mahaffey
From University of Sheffield
The biggest challenge has been to knit together the various inputs from the numerous consultants into a coherent and safe package of care. It is thanks to my dad's resilience and our combined vigilance in scrutinising the lengthy contra-indications (yes, in tiny writing) included in each box, bottle and packet prescribed to him that the potential risks due to combining certain medications have been spotted and avoided. But is is an exhausting process which involves lots of trips (ongoing) back and forth to the GP, hospital and chemist shop and a degree of unused/discarded medication. I agree wholeheartedly with the report's conclusion about the need for repeat prescribing, especially of multiple medications, to be more closely monitored.
Lorna Warren, Department of Social Studies
From Patricia Lee, Community Pharmacist
The article gave me much food for thought and highlighted problems which I have been aware of for some time (ie ever-changing generic brands and difficulty of blister packaging) and which I have attempted to resolve to some degree. Wholesalers dictate the generic drugs sent and, even if a specific brand is requested, there is no guarantee it will always be stocked.
Popping tablets out adds time to dispensing and there is loss of any calendar assistance.
From Brighton University
Thank you very much for sending me a copy of “Pills and Perils”. I found it very interesting, not only for the content, but also for the fact that you used a very rich source of researchers, who, I think, are often overlooked. When you have a chance, I would like to talk through how you went about recruiting, training etc. as I am sure the lessons learned will be valuable in the future.
Mike Ellis-Martin........Brighton
School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences
University of Brighton
From Oxford University
“Pills and Perils” is extremely impressive and shows what patient participation in research should be about. I suppose the balance for professional researchers is how to support groups like this without invading their autonomy or subverting their agenda. Anyway, thanks for drawing my attention to it. Maybe…the BMJ might wish draw attention to it by putting the report on a website and commissioning a short editorial piece on patient-led research in the journal.
David Mant........Oxford
Professor of General Practice Kellogg College
From Imperial College, London
Many thanks for sending me the report, “Pills and Perils”. It is comprehensive and impressive. I’m going to give it a little more thought and may get back to you with a suggestion.
Simon Thom........London
Professor of Pharmacology, National Heart and Lung Institute
Imperial College.