Understand legislation, policy and procedures relevant to administration of medication 1. 1 The Medicines Acts 1968 and various amendments cover the legal management of medication. While care staffs are not expected to have detailed knowledge of the legislation, they do need to be aware of the legal difference between types of drugs and the legal framework that allows them to handle medicines on behalf of the service user. The following is a list of legislation that has a direct impact upon the handling of medication within a social care setting. •The Medicines Act 1968 •The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
•The Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973 SI 1973 No 798 as amended by Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 •The NHS Scotland Pharmaceutical Service (Regulations) 1995 •The Social Work Act 1968 as amended by The Regulation of Care Act 2001 •The Children Act 1989 •The Children’s Act 1995 •The Data Protection Act 1998 •The Care Standards Act 2000 •The Regulation of Care Act 2001 •The Health and Social Care Act 2001 •Adults with Incapacity Act 2000 9 © Social Care Association •The Health Act 200 •Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) •The Control of Substances Hazardous to health Regulations (1999-COSHH) •Hazardous Waste Regulations (2005).
•Mental Capacity Act (2005) •The Access to health records Act (1990) This list is not exhaustive, organisations and all staff should be enabled to access documentation pertinent to the administration of medication like the examples listed above. The National Minimum Standards require the registered person puts in place policies and procedures for the receipt, recording, storage, administration and disposal of medicines.
Outcome 2 Know about common types of medication and their use 2. 1 Common types of medication and potential side effects are: Analgesics e. g. Paracetamol Analgesics are used to relieve pain such as headaches. Addiction to these can happen if taken over a long period of time. Also, irritation of the stomach, liver damage and sleep disturbances as some analgesics contain caffeine. Antibiotics e. g.
Amoxicillin Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections. Diarrhoea, feeling sick and vomiting are the most common side effects. Some people get a fungal infection such as thrush after treatment with antibiotics for a longer period of time. More serious side-effects of antibiotics include kidney problems, blood disorders, increased sensitivity to the sun and deafness. However, these are rare. Antidepressants e.g.
Cipramil Antidepressants work by changing the chemical balance in the brain and that can in turn change the psychological state of the mind such as for depression. Common side effects include: blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness, increased appetite, nausea, restlessness, shaking or trembling, and difficulty sleeping. Other side effects include: dry mouth, constipation, and sweating. 2. 2 Medication that demands the measurement of specific physiological measurements includes drugs like insulin (blood has to be taken from a pinprick so that glucose can be measured before the insulin can be given), warfarin to thin the blood – again blood levels must be checked regularly, digoxin to slow and steady the heart (pulse should be checked prior to administration and advice taken if the pulse dips below 60 beats per minute)
2. 3 Common adverse reactions might be diarrhoea skin rashes, nausea – through to serious adverse reactions such as anaphylactic shock, facial swelling, blistering of the skin, wheezing and hives leading to total system collapse and death. Most adverse reactions can be noticed by keeping a close eye on the individual, most are easily spotted by how the individual is acting or if they are telling us something is not right, if any adverse reactions did occur do any individual an ambulance should be called straight away, just incase the individual quickly deteriorates.
2. 4 The different routes of administering medication are: •oral route: swallowed by mouth as a pill, liquid, tablet or lozenge •rectal route: suppository inserted into the rectum •intravenous route: injected into vein with a syringe or into intravenous (IV) line •infusion: injected into a vein with an IV line and slowly dripped in over time •intramuscular route: injected into muscle through skin with a syringe •topical route: applied to skin •enteric: delivered directly into the stomach with a G-tube or J-tube •nasal: sprays or pumps that deliver drug into the nose •inhaled: inhaled through a tube or mask (e. g. lung medications)
•otic: drops into the ear •ophthalmic: drops, gel or ointment for the eye •sublingual: under the tongue •buccal: held inside the cheek •transdermal: a patch on the skin •subcutaneous: injected just under the skin Outcome 3 Understand procedures and techniques for the administration of medication 3. 1 When it comes to administering medication there are many different types of equipment that you use, they all have their own purpose and functions these can include:
•Topical route – Gloves – Gloves should be used when handing any form of medication, weather it is a tablet or a medicinal cream, there stop any medications soaking into your skin, they are used for protection for yourself, but also for the protection of individuals, stopping any cross contamination etc. •Buccal route, Intramuscular route, Subcutaneous route.
Needle Syringes are used for injections, this could be an injection for a antibody or an injection for insulin, these are basically simple pumps that have a plunger inside a tube, and with a thin stainless steel needle attached they can be made of plastic or glass usually and can come in many different sizes, with all different measuring units on them to measure how much medication you are pulling up into the syringe. •Oral route – Water – One of the least recognised materials when administering medication, but also one of the most important, water must ALWAYS be available to any individuals who are taking medication, water is extremely important due to the fact that it can stop tables getting caught in throats, stopping any choking and washing tables straight down.
•Rectal route – Enemas or suppository – A suppository is a drug delivery system that is inserted into the, where it dissolves or melts and is absorbed into the blood stream. They are used to deliver both systemically and locally acting medications. Whereas a enema is a fluid injected into the lower bowel by way of the rectum. 3. 2 All required information you will need about what medication needs to be administered to an individual will be on a MARS sheet, kept in an individuals medication file, the MARS sheets in my work place have recently changed, where as an old mars sheet would have all the medications listed and it would say next to it how much or how many tablets to give and what time of the day, now all medications are listed in order of what time of day they need to be administered.
Outcome 4 Be able to prepare for the administration of medication 4. 2 Timing of medication should always be taken very seriously, in an individuals medication file there will be a MARS sheet, this will hold the information of what medication should be administered and at what time, once administered it should be signed for instantly, this way if someone else comes on shift they can go straight to the medication file and see what medication the individual needs and when, and if it has been given already or if they need to give the medication to the individual.
4. 3 If there are any problems with giving medication, If a dosage has been missed, refused, dropped or lost there is a system that should be followed, this is too: •Ring NHS direct or the individuals doctor and ask for advice •Fill in a RIVO form, this is a form to evidence what has happened, why it has happened and what you have done to resolve the problem •The incident should also be recorded in the individuals confidential book to ensure that other members of staff or notified that the dosage has not been given.
•The MARS sheet should be signed with the correct letter following the key at the bottom of the MARS sheet for the reason why there were problems with the administration 5. 5 It is always necessary to confirm that the individual has taken the medication in my workplace as they are not capable of understanding fully what will happen if the medication is not taken, and are not fully capable of understanding what would happen if the medication was given to another individual, we must make sure the individual has taken the medication for the safety of the individual and for the safety of other individuals in the supported living house.
5. 7 If there is any out of date medication or any part used medications in our workplace, the way we dispose of the medication is we take it back to the pharmacy for them to destroy, when doing this we must also get the pharmacist to write a note and sign the note to confirm that they have taken the medication off us for disposal, this will then be written in the communication book and the note of disposal from the pharmacist will be stapled into the individuals whose medication it is confidential book for evidence.