Medication Management in Your Care Home

Medication Administration Management in Care Homes

Please note that this is merely a simplification of the guidelines for Medication management within a care home, since the whole subject is vast within the scope of compliance. Take a look at the NICE website for full guidelines.

Be aware that guidelines change over time as they may be updated. A care home manager must make sure that they are up to date with all medication policy along with the NICE guidelines, in order to completely understand and provide adequate support for effective and appropriate medication management and administration for their care home.

It’s always good practice to review all guidelines as a care home manager, so that you can rest assured you are completely up to date.

While keeping yourself updated, always ensure to check with your staff as well on a regular basis. As a care home manager, make a list of the checks you need to conduct with your staff so you can easily keep track. Here is a list of things you may want to include on your list:

• Are all staff up to date with their medication administration training?
• Do staff that administer medication receive regular competency training and testing (even in between formal trainings)?
• Do staff understand the process of delivering medication?
• Do staff that are medication trained know how to order the medications they administer? Do they know what day to place an order for medications so residents don’t run out of their medications.
• Do staff know how to receive medications safely?
• Do staff know how to store medications properly and safely?
• Do staff know how to dispose of medication, and understand what a safe system of disposal is?
• Do staff know how to support those residents who self administer their medication?
• Do staff know how to fill out all necessary paperwork and charts with the correct codes?

The 6 Rights’s of Medication

The 6 Rights of Medication Administration Inforgraphic By MyWorkMode

A good way to train and remember the important things about medications is to recite the 6 rights. If you get staff within the care home to memorise and recite the 6 Rights, and to understand what they mean, you’ll have a more aware workforce. It’s a good idea to post them somewhere within the care home as well, like in a staff break room, so that everyone has a chance to see them once or twice a day as a reminder.

The 6 rights are the following: Right client, Right route, Right drug, Right dose, Right time, Right documentation.

Other Ways to Reduce Risk in Medication Management

A few easy ways you can reduce risk in your care home when it comes to medication management without too much extra work is to spot check your staff with the 6 R’s, which is easy enough to do while doing a walk around the home. Consider appointing a medication champion, and auditing medication administration regularly.

A more involved approach is to introduce a software medication management system that can act as an extra form of documentation and tracking. Integrating technology like smart phones, tablets, apps, and software into care homes can be very beneficial depending on what your needs are.

Lastly you as the Registered Care Home manager should consider completing an advanced level medication course yourself. The more training you have, the more high quality support you can provide for your staff when it comes to medication administration management.

Use resources that are available online like the NICE resources: Care home staff administering medicines. Share the CQC guidance for providers with your staff so that they understand all elements of medication administration management themselves, and can strive to provide the most compliant service possible.

If you’re looking for competent, qualified, experienced, and vetted staff to cover care home shifts take a look at the MyWorkMode platform. Our carers have their skills and specialisations listed in their experience profile, and carry a MWM passport that validates all of their certifications and qualifications, so you can rest assured the staff provided to you is one you choose, and has the skills you need to be CQC compliant.