While electronic medicines administration records (eMAR) are without doubt the way forward, no system is perfect. To help you chose an eMAR, we've put together a ‘snagging list’ of common issues we’ve seen. Is the medicine entry laid out logically? Does the system include all 3 descriptors...
Legally, in a care home, which of the following needs locking up in a CD cabinet? (There may be more than one correct answer): Oramorph 10mg/5ml oral solution Oramorph 20mg/ml oral solution Gabapentin 100mg capsules Pregabalin 100mg capsules Midazolam 10mg pre-filled syringe Temazepam 10mg tablets ...
If you've looked at other medication training courses from non-specialist general training providers, you may have seen they refer to a level: for example "Safe Handling of Medication: Level 2" or "Medication Management: Level 3". What do these levels mean? and why don't we include...
We examined 80 CQC inspection reports from a range of different services (rated as outstanding to inadequate from August to December 2023). This allowed us to rank the most commonly inspected areas for medication by CQC (KLOE S4) to find out: where CQC inspectors are...
With some subjects, annual training often just ticks a box. That might be okay for some areas, but not medicines as the risk of harm to your clients and to your organisation is too high. What are the risks? Administering medicines can quickly become a routine repetitive...
In summary CQC updated their advice on medicines records and made the following change: Q: How long should you keep medicines charts for? A: Previously 3 years, now it’s 8 years. The update from CQC (1) is a little lengthy, and if you are busy it can be a...
CQC and OFSTED (and Care Inspectorate Wales) inspect against NICE guidelines. NICE guidelines (1) state, that in care homes, a witness is needed when: Staff members add (or amend) medicines on medicines administration records (MARs), and when controlled drugs (CDs) are received, administered, or returned...
Regulation 18 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 states sufficient numbers of trained staff must be available, but gives no more detail. Hence, CQC refer to NICE guidelines which state: For care homes (1): "Good Practise is represented by the care home provider undertaking...
With the increasing temperatures the UK now faces in the summer, do you need to take any action with your medicine storage? Note: this advice applies to care homes and schools. In a person's own home the care provider is not responsible for conditions in which...
With the risk that COVID-19 might affect the availability of medicines, NHS England issued new guidance for care homes allowing them to re-use medicines between residents, rather than destroy them or send them back to the pharmacy. The full guidance is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-reuse-of-medicines-in-a-care-home-or-hospice). This guidance applies...
You may have noticed that it's difficult to obtain medicines in monitored dosage systems (MDS or 'blister packs' as they are commonly known). These are hard plastic or disposable trays containing a week's worth of medicines. It's been a few years (January 2019) since Boots first...
Gabapentin and pregabalin were reclassified as controlled drugs (CDs) back in April 2019, yet many health and social care providers still seem unsure how to treat them. Are they controlled drugs? In short, yes they are controlled drugs but no, they do not need to...
If you find this article useful, sign up for updates when new articles are published (on the left hand side or bottom of the screen for mobiles). Emollients are moisturising creams, ointments, lotions and gels applied to the skin to treat dry skin conditions such as...
Summary NICE guidelines fail to give clear advice on whether room temperatures need monitoring for medicines stored in care homes. We recommend that care homes in England should follow the same advice that applies to pharmacies in England and care homes in Scotland, namely: If it is...
In this update, I will cover which types of medication error need reporting to the CQC and safeguarding, as well as how to investigate and learn from medication errors. If you find this article useful, sign up for updates when new articles are published (on the...
Summary: Following new advice from NICE (March 2017) for community settings [1], all medicines support provided to a person should be recorded on a medicines chart. NICE may apply this to care homes with the next revision of their medicines guidelines. If you find this article...
Recent Court of Protection Ruling on Covert Medication – 6th July 2016 A recent Court of Protection ruling on the administration of covert medication has implications for all care settings. In this training update, John Greene (Lead Trainer, Prescription Training) looks at this Court of Protection ruling, and...
Some manufacturers state that for certain items like creams, oral liquids, eye drops etc. the product must be discarded X days or months after first opening. If this is the case, the manufacturer will print a once-opened/discard-by date on the package. It may also be...
