Compliance Support, MDS & The Equality Act
Resources:
August 2026
Supporting patients who may need reasonable adjustments (under the Equality Act: 2010) to take their medicines. Guidance on the use of Monitored Dosage Systems (MDS) across Devon.
The Devon Guiding Principles for the Use of Monitored Dosage Systems (MDS) has been reviewed and updated and are now available on the OneDevon website (link here). The guidance aims to support health and social care professionals involved in the prescribing, dispensing, and the administering medicines to patients who may need a reasonable adjustment under the equality act 2010 to take their medicines.
A covering letter and document has been widely circulated across Devon that you can read here:
The West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) working collaboratively with stakeholders are delighted to publish a series of free resources to support appropriate use of Medicines Compliance Aids (MCAs), through promotion of the range of reasonable adjustments and how assessments for adjustments should be undertaken. The use of MCAs were recognised as an important medicines safety issue by the West of England Patient Safety Board and the West of England Medicines Safety Steering group, and an improvement area which the AHSN could support.
Resources to be used by health professionals and to educate patients, carers and families:
- Patient Equality Act Assessment for Medication Reasonable Adjustment standardised assessment form
- Patient Equality Act Assessment for Medication Reasonable Adjustment decision tree infographic poster
- Health care professionals video animation – “How healthcare professionals can support medicines compliance: reasonable adjustments”
- Video animation sharable with patients/carers/public – “Helping medications to be taken safely: advice for patients, families and carers about reasonable adjustments”
- Reasonable adjustment flag information briefing
Watch this short video where national Polypharmacy Clinical Lead and pharmacist, Clare Howard, discusses our resources and their importance.
The resources aim to promote a culture change around MCAs, through:
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- Raising awareness of the other reasonable adjustments available to support patients take their medicines safely and effectively.
- Supporting pharmacy teams with decision making about reasonable adjustment eligibility and appropriateness
- Educating healthcare professionals, patients, carers and the public about available adjustments, and the proper process to obtain them, to support medicines safety based on individual needs.
- MDS Briefing – July 2019
- Shorter Prescribing Periods Joint Statement 2024
- The Equality Act 2010
MCA Assessment Form (Portrait)
MCA Decision Tree A4 Poster (No Crops) HIGH-RES
