“Older people require special care and consideration from prescribers.””
NICE
“Older adults, people living with frailty and residents in care homes are among those at highest risk from problematic polypharmacy.””
UK Clinical Pharmacy Association, Polypharmacy Guidance, December 2025
“Pharmacists play an increasing role in medicines management and optimisation for older people in hospital, including medicines reconciliation on admission, medicines optimisation and deprescribing, assessment of patients who need support with medicines administration or timely management of medicines on discharge from hospital. In some trusts, there are consultant pharmacists who lead pharmacy services for care of older people and work in multidisciplinary teams to manage problematic polypharmacy. In the community pharmacists are a vital resource to support community multidisciplinary teams and care homes. We believe that pharmacists should be supported to develop and extend these roles with appropriate training. This can help to free up geriatrician time and also support the safe practice of those who administer medicines.”
Getting it Right First Time – Geriatric Medicine
This important national conference provides an essential, practice-focused update for pharmacists and non-medical prescribers working with older people across acute, primary care, community pharmacy, PCN, intermediate care and care home settings.
The role of the pharmacist prescriber is expanding rapidly. NHS England has confirmed that from September 2026 all newly qualified pharmacists will be independent prescribers on registration, creating new opportunities for pharmacist-led clinical services, medicines optimisation and prescribing within integrated primary care and community pharmacy.
Prescribing for older people is complex and high-risk. Older adults are more likely to be living with frailty, multimorbidity, cognitive impairment, falls risk, delirium risk, long-term pain and multiple medicines. NHS England identifies people in care homes, those with complex and problematic polypharmacy, people taking 10 or more medicines, people with severe frailty, recent hospital admissions or falls, and those using potentially addictive pain medicines as key groups who may benefit from Structured Medication Reviews.
The conference will explore how pharmacists and pharmacist prescribers can lead safe, person-centred prescribing and medicines optimisation for older adults. There will be a particular focus on structured medication review, polypharmacy, deprescribing, medication safety, shared decision-making, medicines reconciliation and safer transitions of care.
There will be a particular focus on polypharmacy, deprescribing and safer transitions of care, including how NMPs can work alongside geriatricians, GPs, community teams and care homes to identify problematic polypharmacy and reduce avoidable harm.
“Everyone has a responsibility to address problematic polypharmacy.”
Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Learning Outcomes
The Conference will enable you to:
Network with pharmacists, pharmacist prescribers and non-medical prescribers working to improve medicines use in older people
Understand the implications of the 2026 expansion of pharmacist independent prescribing
Explore the role of pharmacist prescribers in older people’s care across primary, community, acute and care home settings
Improve confidence in Structured Medication Reviews for older adults with frailty, multimorbidity and complex polypharmacy
Identify problematic polypharmacy and reduce prescribing-related harm
Develop safe and person-centred approaches to deprescribing
Learn how to use the National Prescribing Competency Framework in everyday practice
Understand how to effectively develop, demonstrate and maintain continued competence in prescribing for older adults
Explore best practice in frailty, polypharmacy and prescribing across the system
Reflect on lessons from experts in non-medical prescribing with in-depth interactive sessions focusing on:
Pain in the older person
Medication management for falls prevention
Prescribing to avoid or reduce delirium
The role of the non-medical prescriber in care homes and community services
Work effectively with patients with co-morbidity and complex conditions
Develop your role and confidence as a non-medical prescriber leading safer medicines use in older people
Self-assess, reflect and expand your skills in prescribing practice whilst understanding your limits of practice and professional accountability
Support your CPD and professional development – this course provides 5 hours of training for CPD, subject to peer group approval for revalidation purposes
