Our first recommendation relates to data collection. We were told that the lack of data and records means there is great difficulty in determining a national picture of prevalence and patterns of prescribing antipsychotic medications within care homes. We know that work is ongoing with the NHS Wales Informatics Service and the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership to make improvements and collect new data, but there will still be limitations with the new data being collected and gaps in our understanding of the number of older people in care homes being inappropriately prescribed antipsychotic medication. We therefore recommended that the Welsh Government should ensure that, within 12 months, all health boards are collecting and publishing standardised data on the use of antipsychotic medication in care homes and report back to this committee on progress at the end of that 12-month period. This recommendation was only accepted in principle.

In passing, obviously, out of the 11 recommendations the committee made, six are accepted in principle, four are accepted, and one is rejected, this recommendation about data collection being accepted in principle. The Cabinet Secretary, in his response, states that there are significant limitations with routinely collected prescribing data, which, he says,

‘means it is not possible to readily attribute prescriptions to residents in care homes’.

However, we heard in evidence that it is already happening in some health boards, which raises the question: if some can do it, why not all? The Cabinet Secretary has committed to convene a group of relevant experts to examine the usefulness of various data sources and advise on how such data can be used to reduce prescribing. This seems to suggest that they will examine existing data sources and advise on how such data can be used to reduce prescribing, which does not imply that the committee’s recommendation will be accepted at all. I would appreciate the Cabinet Secretary’s clarification of this point, along with further information on the remit and timescale for this expert group.