Medication Administration (Non Accredited)

Whilst in the ideal situation service users would be supported to manage their own medicines, in reality support workers do often have the responsibility for administering medicines.
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 one day course aims to 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’.

This course is not suitable for those who need to comply with Regulation 18 (1)(c) of the Care Homes Regulations 2001, however is consistent with the learning objectives at level 2.

We do provide a separate accredited course for those who need to meet the requirement.

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 service user refuses medicine offered
• Know who to inform if a medication error occurs
• Know who to inform if the service user 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 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 service user has not already been given the medication by anyone else
• Recognise and report possible side effects
• Report refusals and medication errors
• Know how a worker should administer medicines prescribed ‘as required’, for example pain killers, laxatives
• Understand what workers should do when service users request non-prescribed medicines

Training methods:

• Tutor presentations
• Video
• Group work
• OHP/Power Point
• Discussion
• Case study
• Handouts

CP24/4.9