Support Use of Medication in Socia Care Settings free essay sample

There are four acts that governs the use of medication in social care settings. a. ) The Medicine act 1968 -governs the manufacture supply of medicines. This requires that the local pharmacist or dispensing doctor is responsible for supplying medication. He or she can only do this on the receipt of a prescription from an authorised person eg a doctor. b. )The misuse of Drugs act 1971 and amendments 1985, 2001 -this controls dangerous or otherwise harmful drugs designated as Controlled drugs (CD). The main purpose of this act is to prevent the misuse of controlled drugs. CD’s are prescribed drugs used to treat severe pain. Some people abuse them by taking them when there is no clinical reason. The purpose of the legislation impacts on care homes by requiring special arrangements for storage, administration, records and disposal. c. ) The misuse of drugs (Safe custody) amendment Regulation 2007 this specifies how controlled drugs are stored and is referred to in the Standards for care homes. We will write a custom essay sample on Support Use of Medication in Socia Care Settings or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Controlled drugs must be kept in Controlled drugs cabinet that complies with these regulations. The regulations specify the quality, construction, method of fixing and lock and key for the cupboard. Care Home regulations 2001 Regulation 13 states that a registered provider must make arrangements for the recording, handling, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the care home. 1. 2. Products in the UK are given licences that class them as a prescription-only medicine (POM), a pharmacy medicine (P) or a general sale list medicine (GSL). POMs are available only on prescription after they are prescribed by a qualified prescriber who takes responsibility for the patient’s care. All injections and controlled drugs at certain strength are considered POMs. Medicines are those that are available from a pharmacy, and must be sold under the supervision of the pharmacist. GSL medicines can be bought from general retailers as well as pharmacies. 1. 3. The policies and procedures need to follow the law so care settings are not breaking the law. The legislation give the guidelines to care providers how to deal with medication and also to protect those who receive them. 2. 1. and 2. 2. Common types of medication and list of conditions for each type of medication may be prescribed. Painkillers most people use painkillers to treat mild conditions including head and muscle aches Antihistamines they help to ease symptoms associated with conditions such as hayfever and allergies, but can also be used to treat atopic eczema, insomnia and allergic conjunctivitis. Antibiotics are used to treat infections and illnesses that care caused by bacteria; antibiotics are available on prescription and are used to treat a variety of common infections (UTI, throat infection) Antidepressant are used to treat depression. Contraceptive medication to prevent pregnancy. Beta blockers are a versatile type of medication that can be used to treat a variety of different health conditions for example high blood pressure (hypertension), angina, heart failure, anxiety. Immunosuppressives suppress the body’s immune system; they are used to treat conditions that affect the immune system (known as autoimmune diseases) and to prevent rejection following transplant operations. (HIV) Anticoagulants are used to prevent the blood from clotting; blood clots can contribute to serious health conditions including strokes and heart attacks as they block the free flow of the blood around the body. The most commonly used anticoagulants include warfarin and heparin to treat deep vein thrombosis, strokes and heart attacks. 2. 3. An adverse drug reaction is an unwanted or harmful reaction experienced following the administration of a drug or combination of drugs under normal conditions of use, which is suspected to be related to the drug. The reaction may be a known side effect of the drug or it may be new and previously unrecognised. Changes to an individual’s physical and mental well-being that may indicate an adverse reaction to a medication include: skin rashes, hallucination, insomnia, anxiety. 3. 1. The prescriber must be trained appropriately (may be a GP or nurse prescriber for example) and update themselves as required by any professional body that they might belong to prescriptions should be written clearly, ensuring the patient understands any side effects and the reasons for the prescription be given to them and how long they should take it for. Medication should only be prescribed after careful consideration of the patients best interests. The prescriber should have access to the most up to date version of the British National Formulary (BNF) The person dispensing must also be appropriately trained, follow safe systems of work and understand the side effects of various drugs; be able to access appropriate information and understand when to access advice or further information (the dispenser may not necessarily be a trained pharmacist but should be working alongside one). By supporting medication the person administering the medication support an individual to take medication through following care plans or support plans; staying with the person to support them to take it; using appropriate equipment (spoon etc) and a drink of water and of course reassuring communication and of course time. 3. 2. Many medicines can be purchased through wholesalers and retail outlets by anyone. People may decide to buy and keep remedies to take themselves, including herbal remedies and products that they purchase from other countries. When the care provider keeps a range of ‘homely remedies’, it is care workers who will decide whether to give them to a resident or not. Homely remedies are used to provide immediate relief for mild to moderate symptoms. They are treatments that people would use themselves without consulting their GP, for example to treat toothache or indigestion. These medicines are potent and may interact with medicines that the doctor has prescribed for residents. The care provider is under no obligation to provide this treatment. But if homely remedies are purchased for occasional use by residents, the care provider must have a written policy that details the following: †¢ which medicines are kept for immediate relief of mild symptoms that a resident may choose to self-treat in their own home †¢ the indications for offering the medicines †¢ the dose to give and how often it may be repeated before referring to the resident’s doctor †¢ how to establish with the resident’s GP that the remedies will not interact with other prescribed medicines †¢ how to obtain the resident’s consent to treatment that the doctor has not prescribed †¢ how the administration will be recorded. The routes by which medication can be administrate: Oral medicines can be given orally in the form of capsules, tablets, liquids or powders. Rectal (anal) products such as suppositories and enemas are placed into the rectum, where they work locally or are absorbed into the bloodstream. Vaginal products such as pessaries and some creams are administered to the resident via the vagina. Via needles Injections can be given under the skin, in the muscle or into the vein. Feeding tube some residents may have their medicines administered via a feeding tube. Through the skin for example patches, creams 4. 2. Forms of medicines: capsules and tablets, liquids buccal preparations are placed in the mouth between the gum and the top lip, implants, injections, infusion, cream, gel, ointment, lotion, inhalers, patch, intranasal, vaginal products. 4. 3. Materials and equipment that can assist in administering medication medicine trolley syringes for medicines, needles and syringes for injections Nebuliser for Ventolin nebulisers (Usually used for chronic asthma, COPD, Emphysema etc Applicator for pessary, 5. 1. Medicines will either be delivered to the care setting from the pharmacy or the resident may bring prescribed medicines and non-prescribed medicines into the care home themselves when they first arrive. If the medicine is going to be administered by qualified staff then the medicines should be given to them by the resident so that the medicines can be stored appropriately. The procedure for how medicines are given in the care home Should be explained to the resident. If the medicines are being delivered from pharmacy, they should be given to a designated member of care staff, The staff should put the medicines into a secure place. Controlled drugs should be signed for so that there is an audit trail for who has received the CDs into the care home. A designated member of staff should check each medicine to ensure that was requested has been received and the most recent MAR chart for each resident should also be cross-checked. The medicine itself and the label of each medicine should be checked to ensure that the correct medicine has been received for the correct resident, the dose is correct and any special storage requirements are followed (e. g. fridge items, CD items). 5. 2. All medicines in the care home must be securely locked away when not in use. Medicines should be kept in a locked medicines cabinet (this could be a cupboard, room or trolley) and in accordance with manufacturers’ storage instructions (example fridge). They should be stored as near to the site of administration as possible. Some CDs are required to be stored in a locked metal cabinet used specifically for storing CDs. The cabinet should be fixed securely to a wall. Only designated key holders should have access to this cabinet. 5. 3. Medicines may require disposal for a variety of reasons, for example, they may be out of date, they may be unused or unwanted. A written waste disposal policy should be in place in the care home s staff know how medicines should be disposed of correctly. Nursing homes should ideally dispose of waste via a licensed clinical waste company and not return them to the pharmacy. Residential homes may return unwanted medicines back to the pharmacy because this is classed as domestic or household waste. Each care home should keep a records that include: date of disposal, name form and strength of medicine, quantity disposed, the name of person to whom the medicines was prescribed, the signature off staff member who is arranging disposal. 6. 1. Consent in the use of medication is the principle that a person must give their permission before they receive any type of medicines. The principle of consent is an important part of medical ethics and the international human rights law. For consent to be valid, it must be voluntary and informed, and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision. Care home residents should be encouraged to self-administer medicines whenever possible. Residents can choose to give care staff the responsibility of managing most of their medicines but may decide to self-administer when required medicines such as cream, inhalers or painkillers themselves. Before a resident can self-administer their medicines, care staff should carry out a preliminary risk assessment to ensure resident can self-administer their medicine appropriately and safely. An individuals right to have their dignity privacy respected, following organisations Policies Procedures, National Standards, Codes of Conduct, Essential Standards of Quality Safety, this also relates to consent (Mental Capacity Act 2005) the right to confidentiality (Data Protection Act. ) 6. 2. Before a resident can self-administer their medicines, care staff should carry out a preliminary risk assessment to ensure resident can self-administer their medicine appropriately and safely. Further regular checks at intervals designated in the care home’s policy should be made to ensure this is still appropriate. Pharmacists are able to provide advice and support to residents who self-administer medicines. This will help to maintain the resident’s independence. 6. 3. Ensure the client has a full understanding of the medication both in its purpose and potential side effects. Outline the ingredients so that they are comfortable with taking it. If they are unable to understand its purpose or make a formal decision then speak to their carer or responsible person. For example Vegetarians wont take capsules as they contain gelatin so therefore drug companies should produce an alternative. One ethical issue which raised its head a few years ago and has resulted in changes to the way medication is administered was the covert crushing of medications and adding them to jam or other foods to disguise them when an individual declined to take them. This was considered unethical, unfair deceitful and often dangerous and is now forbidden. Medication which is crushed can be dangerous (slow release medicines can hit the system all in one go causing collapse and serious illness) and giving it in this hidden manner takes away a persons right to choose. Other ethical issues around medication might be a persons strong beliefs around the testing of medicines on animals. 7. 1. The care staff can obtain information about medication by asking the resident and his family, from GP and pharmacy. If the resident is coming from hospital the relevant information about medications are included on discharge form. In the care homes the medicines record is documented on MAR charts. 7. 2. Service user who takes responsibility for their medicines are supported by care staff. That include  ¦ help with ordering and collecting prescriptions  ¦ verbal reminder to take medication Help with reading labels or patient information leaflet  ¦ advising on safe storage of medicines  ¦ observing and reporting to the Senior Care Worker any changes in service user’s ability to manage their medicines 7. 3. Each care home will have its own procedure for administration of medicines by care staff. To make sure that medication is used and administered correctly care homes should: firstly ensure they can identify the individual resident correctly. All Mar charts should have a facing page which contains the personal details and also ideally a photograph (consent from the resident is required). Once the resident has been identified correctly, the care staff should select the medicines that need t be administered at the time by referring to the MAR chart. The MAR chart should be checked for the name of medicine, dose, any recent changes and also check the dose has not already been given by another member of staff. The medicine container should be identified and the information on the label should be checked against the MAR chart to ensure they are the same. The expiry of use by date on the medicine’s packaging should be checked. Care staff should not force residents to take their medicine if they do not want to do so. (Refusal should be recorded in the resident’s records) 7. 4. Potential practical medication problems in the elderly including problems to remember, to swallow practical handling, food- and drug- interactions, short use-before date 7. 5. Information about the medication can be obtain from MAR chart, GP or instructions. 8. 1. Each care home will have its own policy on how to administer medicines and record keeping and this should be followed but the below should be recorded: the date and time the medicine was given, Who gave the medicine (signature) the dose given (if there was a choice) if the medication was refused and the reason. 8. 2. The use of medication is recorded in MAR chart. If there are any problems with use of medication staff member should follow the policies and keep the record in resident’s records. In some cases members of staff will need to do referral to GP or other professionals for example for residents with swallowing difficulties to speech therapist