level 2 certificate in understanding the safe handling of medicines

The task of completing the Controlled Drugs Register can be delegated by the prescribing officer to another member of staff, however, responsibility for the supply remains with the prescribing officer.

It should be made mandatory for the nurses to read back the documented prescription to the doctor. It should be signed by the doctor for confirmation after been reviewed by the druggist.

Roles and responsibilities for supporting the use of medication if after the medication has been dispensed and go into the home depending where people live they may need help from care staff to administer the medication after training they staff would be able to support service users to

A pharmacist must check any medication that is administered to a patient. This is the

Prescription of medicines (POM). These are only available from a pharmacist if they are prescribed by an appropriate doctor.

There are several types of medication, each has a purpose and function needed for their administration via the different routes.

If social care worker collects medicines for the service user they must ensure that any written policies and procedures for every aspect of handling medicines are adhered too. The registered provider is responsible for ensuring that when care workers give medicines they have the right training and are competent to do so.

* All medication should be recorded and signed for by the receiving pharmacist and a proper record maintained in-house.

This booklet will be explaining how Acts and regulations are applied to prescribing, dispensing, administering, storage and disposal of medication in care homes.

Insures all tablets are placed together safely for the service user to access, in line with the carers no contact method. Also facilitates and promote independent administering.

There are several legislations in place with protocols for the administration of medication which I have listed below. The main policy re admin of drugs and storing of drugs and medicines is the Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health or COSHH but along with this there are other policies in place as per the list below.

I also work closely with local pharmacies and doctors around the changing of a person’s medication. It’s important that we work closely together to ensure that the service user is having the correct medication at all times.

When patients are brought back for rooming, the nurse or medical office assistant will review the printed list with the patient prior to documenting in the EMR. During the office visit, we will review polypharmacy and are adding a document to our resources section of the EMR regarding polypharmacy and accurate medication list that will be given to all patients. I have always been aware of the importance of accurate medication list, but was not reviewing this often enough in our patients EMR.

The nurse must verify the physician’s medication order, including the dose and time, and then the pharmacy is responsible for their own checks and balances via the BCMA system in order to complete the dispensing phase of the medication (Gooder, 2011). The nurse enters the BCMA system with a login and password and is able then to see a list of the virtual due list for a specific patient. The computer on wheels is then taken to that patient’s room and the five rights of medication administration begin. As nurses, we are taught to use the five rights of drug administration are (1) right patient (2) right medication (3) right dose (4) right route and (5) right time. By scanning the barcode on the patient’s hospital identification band, the nurse then asks for the patient to verbally state their name and date of birth, which can be verified by the nurse on the virtual due list and then choses the medication that are due for administration at that time. The medication is dispensed and the nurse is able to scan the barcode on the medication, the scanning triggers the automatic documentation of the medication given (Kelly, 2012).

When a patient or an agent requests a prescription transfer, it is mandatory to be done in a timely manner. The transfer occurs between pharmacies and not members. Narcotics and controlled drugs can not be transferred. Benzodiazepine or targeted substances can be transferred only once and they are valid for a year from the date prescribed. Prescription transfers are usually done through fax machine but sometimes they can be done verbally if there are technical issues.