1.1
The following legislation governs the use of medication in a care setting:
The Medicines Act 1968
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
The Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973
The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974)
COSHH
The Mental Capacity Act (2005)
The Access to health records Act (1990)
The Data Protection Act (1998)
1.2
The Medicines Act 1968 and Prescription Only Medicines (Human Use) Order 1997 cover the sale, use and production of medicines. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating medicines in the UK. This includes ensuring that medicines and medical devices are safe and bringing prosecutions when medicines legislation has been broken.
There are three main classes
The person dispensing must also be appropriately trained, follow safe systems of work and understand the side effects of various drugs; they mustbe able to access appropriate information and understand when to access advice or further information (the dispenser may not necessarily be a trained pharmicist but should be working alongside one).
The person administering the medication must be trained in administering medication, follow the care plans and adhere to the company and pharmacy policies. They must make sure they stay with the person whilst the medication is taken, ensuring it is via the correct route, at the correct time. The person administering must never crush or hide the individual’s medication, unless it has been decided to give the person the medication covertly, in which case the Gp, mental health professional, next of kin and pharmacist must be involved, care plans and risk assessments created and updated. It is the person administering’s responsibility to ensure the medication is stored correctly, at the right temperature, securely, within its use by date, MARR sheets are up to date and all medicines are properly labelled. They should ensure that they are using the appropriate equipment to administer (clean, disposable spoon), a glass of drinking water is provided and reassuring communication is used throughout.
3.2
Care assistants can administer over the counter and herbal medicines, and customers can purchase these medicines