Medication: Pharmacology and Medicines Act

Include examples from your work role if appropriate in your answers.

1. Identify the legislation that governs the use of medication in your work place, briefly state how and what they cover also how they influence policies, procedures and agreed ways of working. (616 LO 1.1)

There are several legislations which are used in my workplace such as a The National Minimum Standards (NMS) registered under the Care Standards Act 2000. This NMS legislation covers all the rights the service user to deal with their medication by themselves, if that is appropriate, and states who is then responsible for administrating them (with the regulation of Medicines Act 1968), store, report, register etc, so basically, at my workplace on base of NMS, there are policies and work standards which tells how and who is responsible for medication to the residents, if they are not capable to administrate them.

Person responsible for medication needs to have a training and have a knowledge about the legislations and policies, needs to been able to contact a Doctor and Pharmacy and order or to know how to dispose medication, etc. There are as well in use at my workplace The Medicines Act 1968, The Misuse of Drugs Act (1971), The Misuse of Drugs Regulations (1973), The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation (COSHH) (1999) and not least but very important Hazardous Waste Regulation (2005). All of them they are used in my workplace to create policies and guideline for all who work with elderly and how and carry on duty while dealing with medication and controlled drugs, etc.

2. Describe the common types of medication used by your service users and their effects and potential side effects. (616 LO2.1)

Most of medicines used at my work place are prescribed drugs, such as a tablets, liquids, creams, oral solutions, gels, patches, etc. They are all prescribed usually by the Doctor and administrated by Registered Nurse (patches, medications, tablets, etc) or by trained staff/carers (gels, creams, ointments, etc). There can be a potential side effects for using them, such as a rash, vomiting, diarrhoea, nausea, constipation, headache, dry mouth, allergy reaction, adverse reactions, etc.

For Example cream E45 125g, is used to help relieve dry skin, to moisturise the skin in dry conditions such as eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. It is used only for external. It softens and rehydrates dry skin by helping it to stay more moisture. If overused, or if having a allergy reaction there is a possible a side effect of hypersensitivity or allergic reactions such as rashes. Another medicine is Warfarin tablets (1mg) are used is used in treatment of blood clots, prevention of blood clots by thinning blood and cerebral transient ischaemic attacks. If overdosed or giving a reaction there are some side effects, such as a feeling of being ill, hair loss, rash, diarrhoea or unusual bruising, bleeding, blood in the urine, blackened stools. Again another example will be here Paracetamol 500g is a painkiller, a pain relief medicine, used when individual is in pain and discomfort, it cannot be taken more than 4 doses within 24 hours. There are side effects, if overdosed or interact with other medicines, such as a rash, hypotension or liver and kidney damage, when taken at higher-than-recommended doses.

3. Identify medication which demands the measurement of specific physiological measurements. (616 LO 2.2)

Some medication, especially those who are prescribed for a specific reason and to a specific person, needs to be measured for those individuals as a separate ones. A person prescribing them, in this case that will be a Doctor or a specialist, will check the history of the illness of the individual, will make a another checks on the health, will assure that the drugs prescribed are fine with their age and health, as well as a their overall condition and purpose to prescribe them to ensure that this is the right dose and medicine for the individual. For example there was an individual, a lady age 65 with a blood pressure problem, and she has been taking a Warfarin 1mg tablets. This medicine requires a physiological measurement and needs specific measurement for the prescribing of them. This lady needed a regular blood tests to be taken, so she required a help with making sure there are done, checking with a doctor if the dose of tablets are still fine, etc., just to ensure that the dosage of drugs given was fine for this specific individual, she needed assistance with taking them, as well as a person who would monitor dosage taken and if any concern would speak with a professional person.

4. What changes to a service user’s physical or mental well-being may indicate an adverse reaction to a medication? (616 LO 2.3)

The most common and very serious adverse reaction is anaphylactic shock after administration of for example an antibiotic. Another symptom would be swelling of some parts of individuals body, some skin changes as well as a difficulty in breathing, confusion, hallucination, double vision, shivers, etc. There was a situation that a gentlemen age 78 after having his afternoon cream on his legs had a strong adverse reaction with a symptoms such as a swallowing, itching and redness, he felt very uncomfortable whole night as he could not fall asleep. It needed antibiotics which has been prescribed by a Doctor the next day.

5. What are the different routes medication can be administered by and the different materials and equipment that can be used? (616 LO 2.4 LO3.1)

There are different routes of administration, such as a orally, vaginally, topically, transdermally, sublingually, inhalation, rectally, intramuscular injection, intravenous injection, subcutaneous injection or by percutaneous endoscopic gastronomy (PEG) tube. To administrate medicines you can use for example a 2.5ml or 5ml spoon, oral syringe or a medicine tot, a spacer device for a inhalators, etc. If the person need to have a syrup the Nurse at my work place administrating it will measure it using a 2.5ml spoon to ensure the correct dosage, will then use the medicine tot to give the syrup to the individual in a safe and comfortable way, and after check if this person took it all.

6. Explain why you check the medication record before giving medication for the time it is due and when it was taken last.(616 LO4.2)

When administrating medication, such as a prescribed drugs, you should always check before starting who’s medication are you planning to administrate, check if it is a correct person, then check indication for a specific time of administrating it just to confirm what dosage and if there are no alternation to the medication since the last dosage, which is extremely important while administrating it to the individuals. Some of medicines are only supposed to be given at a specific time of day/night, with a specific alternation and dosage, etc. Check if there was no given more than it should be, so that’s why it is important and safe to check all those details before administration of any drugs.

7. If there is a problem with administration of medication how do you report it.(616 LO 5.3)

If there would be a problem with administration of medication in a Care Home where I work you need to follow the medication policy, which tells you what is needed in a situation such as this one. If there was an error the Nurse on duty needs to immediately report the mistake to the manager and seek for a help of the specialist from available list provided in a attached booklet (available at the nursing place) or if the situation is very bad and the individual has a reaction or needs a help call to 999 and ask for a help. If the risk can be avoid the Nurse needs to follow a professional advice of a clinical or make the appropriate decision (like act within their competence).

All of this needs to be recorded in the individuals care plan and the family should be also inform what the individual health now is, then inform a Doctor and ensure that the report has been made for a CQC body. In a domiciliary care setting where I worked, if there would be a problem with a medication administration I would call my manager or person trained and responsible for medication to report the problem/incident and to seek of their advice, if the individual would be still able to talk, then I would speak to the professional – nurse or a Doctor to check if the error/mistake will not done a harm to a person and to inform them of mistake, if necessary. I would need to ensure that I have all monitored and write done in my care report, exceptional report and MAR sheet what happened the next person will know.

8. Describe how to dispose of out of date and part used medication in accordance with the legislation and your organisational policy.(616 LO5.7)

In accordance with The Medicines Act 1968, The Misuse of Drugs Act (1971), The Misuse of Drugs Regulations (1973), The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation (COSHH) (1999) and not least but very important Hazardous Waste Regulation (2005) medicines and drugs out of date or those who are already part used the Care Home needs to regardless to the home policy and guidance, proceed to safe disposal of them. The main process looks like: all not needed controlled drugs as well as sharps (put in the sharps box) needs to locked in the special clinical room with a clear label of their destination, needs to reported in the special book with the name, date, signature, etc. Only the company designated to collect and dispose the clinical waste can dispose the unwanted medicines. For example all the sharps are disposed to the yellow sharp box which then is locked in a clinical room, where is safe and away from a residents and staff who is not qualified to know how to dispose them and when to report it.