Homecare medicines services: first evidence session for new inquiry
On Wednesday 14, the Public Services Committee is hearing evidence for its new inquiry into homecare medicines services.
Hearing from patient groups and speciality medical groups, the Committee will explore homecare medicines services; investigating any problems in these services, and any impact on patients, clinicians, and the wider NHS.
Meeting details
- Parliamentlive.TV: Homecare medicines services
- Public Services Committee: Homecare medicines services
Speaking about the inquiry, Baroness Morris of Yardley, Chair of the Committee said:
“Homecare medicine services deliver medicines and associated care to around half a million people in England. The Government is increasingly focused on how to treat more people out of hospital and look after them in the community. Homecare medicine services could form part of the answer to this, and it is crucial that they - and the system - can be relied upon to give patients the care they need, when they need it.
“We have received feedback that this may not be the case at the moment. There are reports of missed deliveries, delays, and potentially significant health impacts for patients. Our inquiry will seek to examine how far these problems are occurring, and the impact of these problems – both for individuals and the wider NHS.
“The services we will be looking at are private companies, which have a sometimes arms-length relationship with the NHS. We are looking at how they are governed, managed, and how standards are enforced. We will also examine transparency and accountability – someone has to take responsibility for getting this right.”
Possible questions
- Can you briefly outline what homecare medicine services are, and how the process works?
- Based on feedback from patients you are in contact with, what is your assessment of the performance of these services? What problems are they encountering, and what are the impacts of this? Are there trends in how different groups of patients experience these services?
- How prevalent are these issues; and what has been the trend over time?
- How effective are complaint, enforcement, and accountability mechanisms? How do they work for patients?
- What do you see as the key policy areas that we should be looking at in order to try and rectify problems in homecare delivery?