Childcare medication administration procedure

Purpose

To make sure medication is given to a child only with written authority, exactly as the family and the label direct, checked by a second educator and recorded every time, and that educators can act quickly in a medical emergency.

Scope

All prescription and non-prescription medication given to children at the service or on excursions, including creams, inhalers and emergency medication such as adrenaline autoinjectors. It applies to every educator who receives, stores or gives medication.

Responsibilities

Definitions

Written authority

A form signed by the parent or guardian that names the medication, dose, times, method and dates it may be given.

Medical action plan

A plan from the child’s doctor for a condition such as asthma, anaphylaxis, diabetes or epilepsy, saying what to do and which medication to give.

The five rights

The right child, the right medication, the right dose, the right time and the right method.

What you need

• Medication authority form and medication record
• Locked storage, and a refrigerator for medication that needs it
• Measuring devices such as oral syringes (never household spoons)
• Each child’s medical action plan, kept with their emergency medication

Procedure

1. Receive the medication from the family

   An adult hands the medication to an educator, never leaving it in the child’s bag. It must be in its original container, in date, and, if prescribed, labeled with the child’s name.

   Caution: Don’t accept medication that is out of date, unlabeled, or not in its original container.

2. Get written authority

   The parent or guardian completes and signs the authority form, giving the medication’s name, the dose, the times and method, the start and end dates, and when the last dose was given.

3. Store it safely

   Keep medication locked away out of children’s reach, or in a refrigerator if the label says so. Emergency medication goes where educators can reach it at once, with the child’s action plan.

4. Check the five rights before each dose

   Compare the authority form with the label, and check the right child, medication, dose, time and method. Check the record to make sure the dose hasn’t already been given.

5. Ask a second educator to check

   A second educator independently checks the child’s identity, the medication and the dose, and watches it being given.

6. Give the medication

   Give it exactly as the authority and the label say, using a proper measuring device. Stay with the child to make sure it’s taken.

7. Record it straight away

   Write the date, time, dose and method on the medication record. Both educators sign it.

8. Tell the family

   When the child is collected, tell the family what was given and when, and ask them to sign the record.

9. Give emergency medication when needed

   In an asthma attack or anaphylaxis, follow the child’s medical action plan and your first aid training, and call emergency services.

   Caution: Tell the family as soon as possible, and record it as an incident. Check what your local regulations allow when there is no written authority in an emergency.

10. Handle a medication error

    If a dose is wrong, missed, given twice or given to the wrong child, get medical advice straight away from a poisons information line, a doctor or emergency services. Watch the child closely, tell the person in charge and the family, and record it as an incident.

11. Return or check stored medication

    Give unused medication back to the family when the course ends. Check the expiry dates of stored emergency medication every month and ask families to replace it in good time.

Records

• The signed authority form for every medication, kept for as long as your local regulations require.
• The medication record for every dose, signed by both educators and the family.
• The monthly expiry check of stored emergency medication.
• Incident records for every medication error and every emergency dose.

Related documents

• Incident, injury, trauma and illness procedure
• Medical conditions policy
• Each child’s medical action plan
• First aid and emergency procedure

Revision history