Aim To use the template audit tool to assess the hospice’s procedures, purchasing, storage and destruction, prescribing, administration of medicines. At Thames Hospice good clinical audit looks at an aspect of care from the patients’ point of view, involves the patient wherever possible, and is multi-disciplinary, looking across all relevant professions and organisations. We asked:

• What should we be doing?

• Are we doing it?

• If not, how can we improve?

The Hospice UK audit tool helped us to think about our audit goals:

• Do we know and agree on what the best practice is?

• Will we be able to make any changes, if we find we need to?

• Will the changes make a difference to patients?

Methods Using the Hospice UK General Medicines Audit tool our small Audit team were easily able to review the hospice’s procedures and practices regarding general medicines.

The audit:

• Looked at own practice

• Followed a systematic process

• Included standards to measure our practice against

• Involved everyone in the team and our patients

• Cross referenced standards against legislative and statutory requirements

Results The organisation completed a day-to-day general medicines audit on every patient across the medicines spectrum.

Conclusions Audit is an integral part of our hospice’s ethos. Quality and assurance is intended, monitored and embraced throughout the organisation and supported us in improving training, practice and patient care.