Medication Administration (Accredited) Level 2
Regulation 18 (1)(c) of the Care Homes Regulations 2001 requires
the registered person to ensure that staff receive training appropriate to
their work task. Whilst in the ideal situation service users would be
supported to manage their own medicines, in reality care/support workers have
the responsibility for administering medicines to the majority.
“Care homes registered only for personal care have a national minimum
standard covering staff training for medicine administration:
• In residential care homes, all medicines, including controlled drugs,
(except those for self administration) are administered by designated and
appropriately trained staff. The administration of controlled drugs is
witnessed by another designated, appropriately trained member of staff.
• The training for care staff must be accredited and must include:
• basic knowledge of how medicines are used and how to recognise and deal
with problems in use;
• the principles behind all aspects of the home's policy on medicines
handling and records”’-CSCI
The training for the administration of medication in care/support homes is
pitched at three levels: The Induction level (for all staff and undertaken by
a senior worker), the Basic level and the Advanced level.
This (SEOCN) accredited one day course aims to provide the basic training
that meets the needs of Level 2. This will provide the care/support worker
with the knowledge and practical skills to safely select, prepare and give
different types of medicines, a process that is referred to as ‘medicine
administration’.
The course supports further mentoring that the learner will receive in the
workplace so as to become familiar with the requirements at local level and
to be competent in this area.
The achievement of the learning objectives on this course are certificated
and contribute to the overall achievement of competency within the
organisation. Documentation for this purpose is provided as well as
guidelines for the learner’s workplace mentor.
Learning objectives:
By the end of this course learners should be able to:
• Select the correct medicine from a labelled container including monitored
dosage system and compliance aid
• Measure a dose of liquid medicine
• Apply a medicated cream/ointment; inserting drops to ear, nose or eye; and
administering inhaled medication.
• Record that a resident has had the medicine or the reason for not
administering it
• Know what to do if a resident refuses medicine that the care worker offers
• Know who to inform if a medication error occurs
• Know who to inform if the resident becomes unwell after taking his/her
medicines
• Understand how to prepare the correct dose of medication for ingestion or
application
• Administer medication that is not given by invasive techniques, including
tablets, capsules and liquid medicines
given by mouth; ear, eye and nasal
drops; inhalers; and external applications
• Understand the responsibility of the care worker to ensure that medicines
are only administered to the person for
whom they were prescribed, given in
the right (prescribed) dose, at the right time by the right method/route
• Check that the medication ‘use by’ date has not expired
• Check that the resident has not already been given the medication by anyone
else
• Recognise and report possible side effects
• Report refusals and medication errors
• Know how a care worker should administer medicines prescribed ‘as
required’, for example pain killers, laxatives
• Understand what care workers should do when service users request
non-prescribed medicines
Further mentoring and assessment is undertaken in the work place and include:
• Establishing from the care home records which medicines are prescribed for
a resident at a specific time in the day
• Understanding the service provider’s policy for record keeping.
Training methods:
• Tutor presentations
• Video
• Group work
• OHP/Power Point
• Discussion
• Case study
• Handouts
• Assessment
CP6/4.9
