Company procedures and medicines policies
Company procedures and medicines policies
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On completion of this section you should have an understanding of:
The purpose of an organisations medicines policy
Consent and refusal
Accessing advice about medicines
Good hygiene with medicines
Raising concerns - Safeguarding
The Medicines policy
Regulations and guidance say when there is a responsibility for medicines, there must be policies and procedures in place. These are part of your organisations medicines policy.
The medicines policy explains the ways in which organisations must look after people and their medicines safely and consistently. Your organisation must have written policies, procedures and guidelines for you to follow.
Wherever you work the medicines policy must cover things like.
You must be aware of and understand your organisations policies and processes and follow them at all times. Your organisation’s policy might also have specific instructions on Care Home and Domicilliary care (Dom Care)
Consent and refusal
Consent from a person is needed before a medicine is given and every time a medicine is given. It will be written in your organisations medicines policy and government regulations which you and your organisation must meet.
Consent
When a person gives their permission to receive care without pressure or influence from another person, for consent to be valid, it must be voluntary and informed, and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision.
Care worker may show the person the medicine bottle or ask if they are ready to take their medicine and the person shows consent by
Verbal: Saying 'yes', or other sounds to signify e.g OK
Non-Verbal: Nodding, by extending their hand or opening their mouth
a person may withhold consent by demonstrating actions such as spitting medication out, turning their head away or pushing you away.
Capacity
The person must be capable of giving consent, which means they understand the information given to them and they can use it to make an informed decision.
If the person is unable to give informed consent due to an assessed lack of mental capacity a best interests discussion must take place and be documented.
Refusal
A person who has the capacity to make an informed decision can also refuse treatment and that decision must be respected.
What should you do when a person refuses their medication?
ASK - Attempt to find out the reason why the person has refused their medication.
Offer - Wait and then try offering the medicine again.
Report - Record on MAR and get advice from a health care professional or your manager.
Accessing advice about medicines
Do you know where can you get reliable up to date medicines information?
Your organisations medicines policy will cover how to access medicines information and who to contact for medicines advice when supporting people with their medicines. Click on the questions below to find the related answers.
Do you know where can you get reliable up to date medicines information?
The medicines label/packaging will have directions, extra instructions and storage detailsA patient information leaflet (PIL) will have a variety of information on a medicine-including side effects (reactions)The MAR will also show the details and directions for the medication and the times that the person takes them. Other information specific to that person may also be included.
Do you know who to contact about a person’s medicine?
Person's contact for medicines could be the person themselves, or a family member or carer or a named contact on the care plan.
Do you know which healthcare professional to contact for advice on a medicine?
You could contact the prescriber, pharmacist, named pharmacy, GP, for advice on medicine
Activity: What would you do if...
Click on the images shown to find out the answers to the following questions.
No, to ensure you measure the correct dose a suitable measuring device must be used these could be an oral syringe, graduated measuring cup, medicines spoon.
Probably not, your manager or designated senior, may need to contact the supplying pharmacy for advice. (the pharmacy will need to know how long it has been stored outside of the fridge for).
Seek advice from your manager or designated senior, who may need to contact the supplying pharmacy for advice.
Probably not, seek advice from your manager or designated senior, who may need to contact the supplying pharmacy for advice. (Most medicines need to be stored below 25 °C and away from direct light and or heat – this should be detailed on the PIL and the external packaging (if provided in it's original container).
No, every pharmaceutical product has an expiry date. If you are uncertain of the shelf-life of a medicine check the information supplied with the medicine or contact a pharmacist for advice. The medicine needs to be disposed of safely (as per your medicines policy) and a new prescription ordered. This must be done in a timely manner to ensure the patient doesn't go without their medicine.
No, refer to you companies infection control policy and medicine policy for safe disposal
Good hygiene with medicines
The proper and safe management of medicine includes prevention and control of infection. This will be part of your organisations medicines policy. The law says organisations must handle and store medicines safely and this means you must:
Wash hands before and after handling medicines
Avoid touching or handling medicines -gloves may be worn.
Follow policies for correct disposal of medicines.
Use clean/single use containers for medicines administration
Make sure medicines are fit for use e.g. not contaminated/dirty or damaged/expired.
Do not crush or mix medicines unless you have instructions to do so.
Be aware of the need to protect from excessive heat or sunlight
Be aware of storage requirements e.g. in fridges.
Use the correct equipment, for example, oral syringes for small doses of liquid medicines, dosing cup or measuring spoon (supplied).
⁉️ DO NOT share dosing devices (including cutting and crushing devices) ⁉️
Medicines related safeguarding
The law says you must receive safeguarding training as part of your induction, which must be kept up to date. You must understand your responsibilities for preventing, identifying and reporting abuse when providing medicines care and treatment. The CQC's Essential standards of quality and safety (2010) define safeguarding adults as: 'Ensuring that people live free from harm, abuse and neglect and, in doing so, protecting their health, wellbeing and human rights'.
Bullying or harassment to take medicines is wrong - people must be free to make decisions and not feel pressured or rushed or forced to take a medicine.
Report concerns if you think a person is over-medicated (excessive use/inappropriate use of medicines)-is medication being used to control a person’s behaviour?
NICE Guidance SC1 indicates that a safeguarding issue in relation to managing medicines could include:
deliberate withholding of a medicine without a valid reason
incorrect use of a medicine for reasons other than the benefit of a resident
deliberate attempt to harm through use of a medicine
accidental harm caused by incorrect administration or a medication error.
You should have a policy which includes a process for recording all medicines related incidents. This also includes all 'near misses' and incidents that do not cause any harm. The policy should cover:
whether to notify CQC
which medicines related safety incidents to report under local safeguarding processes
how to report the incident to the person, their family or carers
how to handle referrals to regulators and other agencies, such as NMC
Section 4: Company Policies and Procedures
In this section we have looked at:
The purpose of an organisations medicines policy
Consent and refusal
Accessing advice about medicines
Good hygiene with medicines
Raising concerns - Safeguarding
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