Essay about Health Care and Correct Medication

The Medicines Acts 1968 and various amendments cover the legal management of medication. While care staff are not expected to have detailed knowledge of the legislation, they do need to be aware of the legal difference between types of drugs and the legal framework that allows them to handle medicines on behalf of the service user.

A prescription can be identified as legally authorised written instruction by a prescribing officer to a pharmacist to dispense medication.

3.1 Describe the roles and responsibilities of those involved in prescribing, dispensing and supporting use of medication

The rules and regulations surrounding dispensing errors in the UK are governed by the Medicines Act of 1968 ‘the Act’, and the Health Act 1999, which legislates the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) through the Pharmacy Order 2010. The Act is an Act of Parliament which governs the control, manufacture and supply of medicines in the UK. It was introduced to help control the use of medicinal compounds and to increase patient safety, although much of it has been modernized and repealed. It also gives power to the courts to charge any dispensing mistakes as a criminal offence.

Adverse reactions to drugs are common and almost any drug can cause an adverse reaction.

The scope of practice for non-medical prescribers (NMP) has expanded greatly over the last 2 decades, with legislation now allowing NMP’s to prescribe from the whole BNF (with the exception of treatment in addiction and within the prescribers competency). Since the introduction of the Medicines Act in 1986 there have been over 15 different governmental reports and legislative changes (see Appendix 1 timeline) that have allowed for the development and growth of the NMP role. Initiated by The Cumberledge report of 1986 and followed by advisory group report in 1989 legislation was introduced with the Medicinal products: Prescription by nurses act of 1992 which allowed primary care nurses to prescribe from a limited formulary (V100 & V200). This advancement in legislation recognised previous recommendations and placed the improvement of patient care and effective use of resources at the core of its practice. However these acts did not reflect on other areas like secondary care or pharmacist and it wasn’t until 1998 The Crown Report and its second report published a year later that led to supplementary and independent prescribing (V300). In 2003 legislation was passed allowing some prescribing of controlled drugs in palliative care with restricted circumstances (amendment to Misuse of drugs Act 1971). In May 2006 nurses were empowered to prescribe from the whole BNF with the exception of some controlled drugs, and in 2009 further legislative changes were made to include the

1. The main legislation that governs the use of medication is The Medicines Acts 1968. The following is a list of legislations that have a direct impact upon the handling of medication within a social care setting.

There are several current legislation, guidelines, policies and protocols relevant to the administration of medication. These are The medicines Act (1968), Misuse of Drugs Act (1971), Misuse of Drugs Regulations (2007), Health Act (2000) The Care Standards Act (2000), Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations (2002) Control of Substances Hazards to Health (2002), Hazard Waste Regulations, Controlled Waste Regulations (1992), The Handling of Medic9ines in Social Care and The Safe and Secure Handling of Medicines; a Team Approach.

Non care setting - Medications are often stored and administered in a variety of non-health care settings. These settings include: primary and secondary schools, Child day care centres, Board and care homes, Jails and prisons. In all these settings, employees frequently are responsible for handling and administering prescription and over-the-counter medications to clients or residents. Some organizations may employ licensed health professionals to directly manage the medication administration process. However, many of these settings have no licensed health professionals involved. Where medications are stored and administered to individuals, written policies and procedures should address the following: Acquisition of medications (e.g., from parents, caregivers, pharmacies), Specification of which personnel are allowed access to medications and allowed to administer medications to students, clients or residents, Labelling and packaging of medications managed for students, clients

* There must be a policy at work place for the receipt, recording, storage, handling, administration and disposal of medicines.

The principle reason for the Act is to keep the abuse of controlled medications and attains to this by forcing a complete boycott on the ownership, supply, make, import and fare of controlled medications with the exception of as permitted by regulations or by permit from the Secretary o

Outcome 1 – Understand the legislative framework for the use of medication in social care settings.

1. In the workplace there is a generic Medication Management Policy and Procedures for Adult Services (Issue 10, 2012) document. This is kept to hand in a locked cupboard, readily available to read. It requires that all Healthcare Staff are given mandatory training and refreshers are provided. Legislation which surrounds the administration of medication includes The Medicines Act 1968, The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, The Data Protection Act 1998, The Care Standards Act 2000 and The Health and Social Care Act 2001

There are several legislations in place with protocols for the administration of medication which I have listed below. The main policy re admin of drugs and storing of drugs and medicines is the Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health or COSHH but along with this there are other policies in place as per the list below.

The Medication Policy and procedure and Mars Handbook covers assessment of individuals’ needs, administering, storage, recording and disposal of medicines including their effects and potential side effects