According to a recent report, almost fifty per cent of care homes in England do not meet minimum medication standards.
The Commission for Social Care inspected nearly 20, 000 care homes.
Safety breaches included people being given the wrong medication, the wrong dose of medication, and no medication at all.
Inspectors found that staff were poorly trained and records were not kept properly.
The inspection found that minimum standards on medication were not met in more than 5,000 of 11,500 homes for older people and in more than 3,000 of 8,000 homes for young adults.
Some 210,000 people live in these homes, many of whom are severely disabled or have long-term illnesses.
A commission report in 2004 highlighted that homes were performing poorly in this area.
This latest report found that despite some improvement, too many homes are still failing to meet the national minimum standard.
"It is vital that all care homes treat this issue with the utmost seriousness. They have a duty of care towards the people in their homes."
"Many elderly vulnerable people living in care homes are not receiving the highest standard of care when it comes to the management of their medication."
"The fact that there has been so little improvement is a source of particular concern."
"It is vital that this issue is looked at and properly addressed so that patient confidence can be restored," said solicitor Chris Gawne who represented families of elderly people who died at Kingsway Hospital in Derby.
BackRelated news stories
- 27/04/2007: Human Rights Act - Residents of Private Care Homes
- 16/08/2006: Former victims of child abuse at care homes in Scotland receive CICA compensation
- 18/01/2005: Kingsway Hospital, Derby Inquests
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