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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Should I report my concerns over suspected stolen medication?

66 replies

EW1995 · 30/05/2021 20:07

I am pretty convinced my ex MIL used to steal other patients medications from work - she manages medications in a care home - because when I used to live with her I would often find bottles of medication with other peoples names on it in her bedroom and I can’t imagine where else she would have got them from.

That was years ago and I was fairly young at the time (teenager) and quite naive so didn’t take it any further.

Fast forward a few years and she works in a new place now, ex has mentioned a couple of times that his mum has given him quite strong medication for different things - she doesn’t have the ability to prescribe medication, I don’t think this is medication she would have been prescribed herself and he didn’t get it from the doctor - so I am starting to suspect that she could possibly still be taking other peoples medications and then giving them to friends and family for ailments without knowing if the medication is correct for them or not.

WIBU to report my concerns to her work place anonymously or should I just keep out of it?

We don’t have a relationship and it doesn’t bother me if she was to find out it was me as it wouldn’t have any repercussions for me personally

OP posts:

Purplewithred · 30/05/2021 20:14

If she is it would be pretty serious - enough to lose her her job and probably her DBS too depending on what the medication is.

But how much evidence do you really have?

Babbly · 30/05/2021 20:16

Please report this to someone - either her employer or the police (personally, I'd go with the police). She could, quite literally, kill someone. Also, if she's got away with it for years then it must mean she's not giving the medication to people who need it.

1Morewineplease · 30/05/2021 20:17

If you have hard evidence then it needs reporting. What she is doing is potentially lethal and you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself if you knew and did nothing.

CarrotVan · 30/05/2021 20:17

So residents are going without their meds? And medication monitoring is that bad that the care home haven’t picked it up?

You must report it to the CQC and let them investigate. People who are no longer able to communicate due to dementia or stroke could be in pain day in day out

I have two parents in a care home - please don’t hesitate to call the CQC

Original poster

EW1995 · 30/05/2021 20:18

That’s the thing I don’t really have any evidence apart from seeing the medication a few years ago and a casual mention of her giving family members medication... it might be enough for them to investigate and do a basic check on stock levels etc?

OP posts:

brushlaptop · 30/05/2021 20:19

This is so wrong please report

WellThisIsShit · 30/05/2021 20:22

I think the implications are very serious, so please report although without much proof I wonder how far you’d get? I think you need to though, for *@CarrotVan*s reasons:

“So residents are going without their meds? And medication monitoring is that bad that the care home haven’t picked it up?

You must report it to the CQC and let them investigate. People who are no longer able to communicate due to dementia or stroke could be in pain day in day out”

Randomname85 · 30/05/2021 20:23

Did you find various pill boxes with various different names or just one other name? And my mum gets strong over the counter meds she gives me if I’ve got period pains or something - doesn’t necessarily mean she’s stolen it. I’d be very careful because yes, your MIL could lose a lot here and if she’s not guilty that is awful. If she’s guilty on the other hand... very tricky.

Original poster

EW1995 · 30/05/2021 20:25

It was various names, some male names too, none of the names belonging to family members...

OP posts:

Mamamamasaurus · 30/05/2021 20:26

Definitely and absolutely report this, someone could be going without medication because she's got sticky fingers (or a secret habit herself?)

Imagine your relative or friend being in pain and having no medication to take because someone has stolen it.

Original poster

EW1995 · 30/05/2021 20:26

Plus the medication she is dishing out to family members is basically enough sleep medication to tranquillise a horse... very strong medication probably a restricted drug that’s very hard to get from a gp let alone over the counter...

OP posts:

CarrotVan · 30/05/2021 20:27

The other day my parents‘ care home called with a ‘serious’ issue.

Their medication monitoring had picked up that on one occasion my Dad hadn’t been given one of his two diuretics. By the time they called me they had

A) called the gp and reported to him in case any additional medical action was needed

B) self-reported to local authority safe guarding

C) instituted a full medication audit

D) interviewed the member of staff, identified training needs and training provision

In the week since they have

E) appointed an additional member of staff per shift who is solely responsible for medication

And this is a middling care home. Not a 5* by any description

Original poster

EW1995 · 30/05/2021 20:28

I think what she has done is built up basically a pharmacy of other peoples medications for every possible condition incase someone has any symptoms so she can give it to them... I’m relatively medical (studied for a while before my child was born but never went any further than that) and it was such a widespread of medication for conditions that no-one actually suffers from that I know of...

OP posts:

osbertthesyrianhamster · 30/05/2021 20:28

You sound like you have a personal agenda and that's what's motivating you most of all. She's your ex's mother. Sounds like your motive is to punish her but you're couching it as virtue signalling. That's really shitty. What goes round comes round.

Original poster

EW1995 · 30/05/2021 20:29

She often handles the mediation alone due to massive staff shortages so is this something she could cover up?

OP posts:

hatgirl · 30/05/2021 20:29

In my job I often deal with reports of medication breaches in care homes.

I can't see how she would be taking whole bottles/packets of labelled prescription meds for current residents without it being noticed. She might get away with the odd tablet here and there but not whole packets.

Something a bit more plausible is that it's the medication of deceased patients or perhaps patients that have gone into hospital and not returned as their care needs have changed that she has pocketed rather than returned to the pharmacy. I can just about see how that could possibly happen, but would still be very concerned about how it was being allowed to happen.

CarrotVan · 30/05/2021 20:29

You report to the CQC and they will investigate - spot inspection with detailed medicine audit. Leave it to the professionals but absolutely report.

Original poster

EW1995 · 30/05/2021 20:30

Not at all - I would never want to punish her as she does a lot for my own child - but the thought of her drugging my child’s father up on medication not for him that could potentially kill him if it had an adverse affect is very concerning!

OP posts:

threeteenstaximum · 30/05/2021 20:31

The problem is you didn't report it at the time

You can do a speculative report right now to CQC but really ought have more recent evidence - if it bothers you why not accompany DH and look in her medicine cupboard

Yes it is a huge deal, so many criminal and neglect/ theft /other charges would arise -report to cqc who would contact police and ASD etc

It's so wrong what she has been doing

hatgirl · 30/05/2021 20:33

@EW1995

She often handles the mediation alone due to massive staff shortages so is this something she could cover up?

Not really, the MAR charts and pharmacy would flag it up pretty quickly if it was anything other than the odd tablet here and there.

As CarrotVan has identified there's really strict medication monitoring in care homes. For this very reason.

osbertthesyrianhamster · 30/05/2021 20:33

@EW1995

Sure, you're not. He's an adult. He could say no.

Or he could be getting it from somewhere else, but I'm sure you'll claim there's no other way.

You've already convicted her, as the others have on here. Wow.

You want to punish her. Again, what goes round comes round.

SmokeyDevil · 30/05/2021 20:34

@osbertthesyrianhamster

Perhaps that's true, but why would someone, anyone, have pills in their house with random peoples names on the bottles? Even a doctor shouldn't have that.

She should still report it. If mil has done nothing wrong, nothing will come of it. But it sounds like she has and who knows, maybe by stealing pills she's already killed people who needed that medication.

Original poster

EW1995 · 30/05/2021 20:35

I know that she often deals with deceased patients from what she’s mentioned previously to me so that could be a possibility... and he has stated that he gets it from her, I hope if your loved ones ever have to go into a care home that no-one potentially steals their medication! For someone who is a stranger I don’t know why you’re getting so defensive

OP posts:

CarrotVan · 30/05/2021 20:35

@osbertthesyrianhamster don’t be a dick. People are saying “report so it can be investigated”

It’s potentially really serious and needs looking at.

osbertthesyrianhamster · 30/05/2021 20:37

[quote CarrotVan]@osbertthesyrianhamster don’t be a dick. People are saying “report so it can be investigated”

It’s potentially really serious and needs looking at.[/quote]
Calling people a dick is against Talk Guidelines.

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