MDS/MCA Guidance

MDS Guidance and Support

It is important that your pharmacy has a consistent, evidence based approach to supporting all patients. Contractors are obliged to make reasonable adjustments for patients who need them.

This is often an expectation to provide medicines in MDS. You must have completed an assessment which shows that use of an MDS is not the best way to support medicines taking for that individual patient or not required, if you are providing alternative support. This assessment on the patient needs to clearly demonstrate the support that is best for them and determines any ‘reasonable adjustments’ under  the Equality Act 2010.  You must supply medicines in an MDS if the assessment indicates that, regardless of how many other MDS you do or how busy you are.

Please see this document  MDS Guidance and Support to help teams understand their contractual obligations. The NW interactive guide is an excellent resource with template equality act assessments (under resources) you can use.