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Just under half (41%) of patients said that they were given an explanation of the purpose of the medicine they were to take at home when they were discharged from hospital, according to the findings of the 2024 Care Quality Commission (CQC) adult inpatient survey.
The survey results, published on 9 September 2025, also revealed more than one-third of patients (34%) were given written information concerning their medicine, while one-fifth (20%) were offered an explanation of the side effects of their medicine.
Around 12% of patients responded that they were given medicine but no information, the study found.
The CQC surveyed more than 62,000 service users across 131 NHS trusts between January and April 2025. Eligible respondents of the study were patients who had been admitted to hospital for at least one night for tests, medical treatment or surgery during November 2024.
While in hospital, more than two-thirds (70%) of respondents said they were ‘always’ able to take medication they brought with them when they needed to, which is the same percentage as the previous year.
Commenting on the findings, Wing Tang, head of professional standards and patient safety at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: “Ensuring patients feel confident their medicines are managed safely and effectively is fundamental to high-quality hospital care. Everyone leaving hospital should understand what their medicines are for, how to take them and any potential side effects, so they can manage their health safely at home.
“Hospital pharmacists are uniquely placed to uphold these standards, supporting patients and sharing information with community pharmacists through the discharge medicines service (DMS) to ensure medicines are used safely and efficiently after leaving hospital.”
The DMS allows NHS trusts to refer patients to community pharmacies on discharge with information about medication changes made in hospital.
Community pharmacy teams can then contact patients to check their understanding of the changes made, support patients and help to avoid harm and readmission.
Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association, said the CQC findings “demonstrate why the DMS is important”.
“Despite every 23 DMS consultations at a pharmacy being proven to prevent one readmission in hospital, the service suffers from a well-known postcode lottery. Hospitals need to be supported to consistently refer all discharged patients to community pharmacies, to allow them to benefit.”
“Improving patient outcomes around the transfer of care needs a DMS which is embedded into everyday practice. Pharmacists are experts in medicines and ideally placed to improve patient care as they leave hospital. More work is needed to encourage hospitals to consistently send referral,” he said.
“This is a prime example of how investing in community pharmacy offers ready-made solutions for many of the challenges the NHS faces.”
Further reading
‘Continuity of care and reducing risk during transitions of care‘.
