Pills have numerous advantages over suspensions for all parties concerned:

• For children and young people: pills are less sickly, contain less sugar and children who swallow pills tend to have better adherence to their medication regimens
• For carers: pills have a longer shelf-life, do not require a fridge for storage, are easier to transport and more readily available in local pharmacies
• For prescribers : less prone to errors when writing prescriptions and can prescribe larger quantities
• For pharmacists: pills are more commonly stocked in local pharmacies compared to suspensions

For the reasons above, and because most medicines are in pill form, swallowing pills is an important life skill for children to learn, an elearning session has been developed to help healthcare professionals and carers  teach children and young people how to swallow pills. In addition, this website contains resources to accompany the elearning session to help you set up pill swallowing training at your local centre.