Only half of Belgium's residential care centres consistently record every insulin syringe they administer to a resident, according to the inspection report on medication policy in residential care centres.
The report came at the request of Flemish Minister of Welfare Hilde Crevits in the wake of the insulin deaths in a rest home in Oostrozebeke. It highlights deficiencies in 36% of all audited procedures around safe medication policy.
Individual nurses who prepare medication in residential care homes must always put their signatures so that it can be verified who prepared the medication, wrote Het Laatste Nieuws. But in 23% of residential care centres, the audit found errors in the recording system, this was done incorrectly at least once.
While 77% of the residential care centres consistently and faultlessly recorded the preparation of medication, they appear to be laxer in recording its administration. However, 57% do it consistently for every patient while the rest of the nursing homes failed to do so. Medication or harmful care products were also found within reach of residents in 31% of residential care homes.
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"A shortcoming at one of the steps in the medication process does not yet mean that the residential care centre has a dangerous medication policy and that we have to intervene immediately," stressed Dirk Dewolf of the Care and Health Agency. Each centre does have to come up with a plan to solve the problem as soon as possible.
