Medication Awareness – understand the why’s and wherefore’s

The Right Drug, the Right Amount at the Right Time

If you’ve ever been put on a course of medication, you’ll know how important it is to keep to the schedule outlined by your doctor. There are reasons for this as many medications require that they are taken in specific amounts at specific times. If a dose is missed or given at the wrong time, it can often seriously impact on the ability of the drug to combat whatever it has been designed for.

Now, imagine you are working in Care Home with 50 individuals to support. Each individual will have their own unique medication regime and schedule and it’s up to you to make sure they take all the right meds at the right time. This is where Medication Awareness is vital. You might think that all you really need to do is check the list, sort the pills and give them to the individual. But there is much more involvement than that.

One key requirement is that you promptly and accurately document this action on their medication record. All of this will support you to comply with relevant legislation and CQC requirements, along with meeting the medication needs of the individuals and your organisation.
It’s also important to ensure that wherever possible, the individual is fully involved in the medication process; that they understand what each medication is for, and what side effects may result in these. It also shows respect for the person, an important aspect of care.

Obviously, medication administration errors can have serious impacts on individuals. Training is essential for you to avoid making catastrophic errors that impact on the individual. Common mistakes could be the incorrect crushing of tablets, giving the wrong dose, or just giving the medication at the wrong time. Understanding how the medication process works is crucial to being able to give the best care.

So, if you are running a Care Service, or work in the Care industry, please make sure you are up to date with your Medication training.

Flexible Training can help you ensure you’re up to date with our Medication Awareness training course.
Please call us for more details, we’re always happy to have a chat, whether you’re a company looking to train staff, or an individual looking to update your knowledge.
Please call Becky on 01462 222300 for more information on upcoming courses or if you’d like us to set up a particular course for you.