Preparing to administer medication
Preparing to administer medication
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On completion of this section you should have an understanding of:
What to check before administering medication
The 'Six Rights' of Administration (6R'S)
Importance of checking and following cautionary warnings and special instructions
Information contained on a pharmacy label
Awareness of safety
Employing safe checking methods when preparing to administer medicines.
Getting medicines administration right
When supporting or administering medicines you should always follow the 6 Right's (R's) of medicines administration.
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:
Prior to medication administration
Prior to the medication being administered the following steps need to be taken...
Check support requirements in care plan
View MAR Chart
Confirm identity of patient
Gain consent
Check for any notes
Check patient hasn't taken medications
Wash your hands and prepare necessary equipment
Ensure a drink is available (preferably water unless care plan states otherwise)
Checking the medication
When administering the medication the flowchart on the left should be followed.
More information on MAR charts is available in Module 1 or visit Medicines information for adult social care services section of the CQC website.
Related guidance: Medicines administration records in adult social care
Check
Name of patient
Allergy status
Today's date
Name and strength of medication
Directions and times of medication
Any special instructions to be followed e.g with food
Expiry date of medicine (including medicines that have a shortened expiry date once opened e.g. eye drops).
Administering the medication
When administering the medication the flowchart on the right should be followed
In care homes NEVER leave the medication out for the patient to take later.
In Domiciliary-style care settings only leave out doses for a person to take later if this has been agreed with them and the process has been risk assessed and recorded in the care plan.
Sometimes a code is used on a MAR instead of staff initials, for example to explain that a medicine was omitted or refused.
Codes will differ between MAR charts but there needs to be a key which explains what they mean E.g. R = refused, H = hospital, O = other, etc.
Special instructions
Drug Labels
Click on the medicine box shown in the image to view what are written on pharmacy labels.
Section 2: Preparing to administer medication
In this section we looked at :
What to check before administering medication
The 'Six Rights' of Administration (6R'S)
Importance of checking and following cautionary warnings and special instructions
Information contained on a pharmacy label
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