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In the UK, medication errors are a growing problem. Dobrzanski et al (2002) estimated that in one trust the incidence of medication error ranged between 35 to 70 per cent. Such high estimations are a cause for concern, particularly when the administration and supply of medicines, which directly involves nurses, can contribute to the cause of medication error. Part of the National Patient Safety Agency's (NPSA) role is monitoring medication errors in hospitals. Although the NPSA can provide information on drug alerts that target primary care organisations, obtaining accurate figures for medication errors is more difficult. Medication errors can be extremely harmful for older people, therefore nurses who prescribe or administer medicines should be assessed for mathematical competence, but also be aware of the potential problems that can arise from medication errors (Banning 2005). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the use of nursing homes as practice placements for pre-registration nursing students. Although initially disappointed that they had not been allocated to acute hospital settings, students changed their views as they became more familiar with the learning environment

Since 2001, medication management has been the topic of numerous reviews ( Department of Health (DH) 2001a , 2001b ), the increased collaboration between medical and pharmacy colleagues ( Bernett et al 2003, Royal College of General Practitioners 2000 ) and the introduction of pharmacy medication management pilot schemes ( Royal Pharmaceutical Society for Great Britain 2003 ).

Bacteria are robust micro-organisms that can survive even in the presence of antibiotics. This has led to problems treating bacterial infections. Bacteria are the most common cause of infection and Streptococcus pneumoniae is one such infection. This bacterium causes community-acquired pneumonia in older people and, though immunisation is available, older people continue to die from pneumococcal pneumonia. Penicillin continues to be used as the main method of treatment against Streptococcus pneumoniae but antibiotic resistance is increasing