Managing and Administering Medication Policy in Health and Social Care

This paper reviews the managing and administering medication policy in the present health and social care setting. The report further analyzes the impact of medication safety as an aspect of health and safety on the care consumers, health professionals and the care setting, and the role of promoting health and safety culture for all stakeholders.

Running head: HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
Health and social care
Name of student:
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Task 3
Introduction
Health and safety is an integral element of care delivery process across care settings for
preserving the best interests of the service users as well as the care providers. It is crucial that all
care settings have in place robust health and safety policies that guide practices of professionals
in a positive manner. Further, monitoring and reviewing of the policies is essential for ensuring
required developments are supported against the evolving needs of the setting. The present
paper reviews the managing and administering medication policy in the present health and social
are setting. This includes how policy and practices are monitored and reviewed. The report
further analyzes the impact of medication safety as an aspect of health and safety on the care
consumers, health professionals and the care setting, and the role of promoting health and safety
culture for all stakeholders. Evaluation of own contributions to putting health and safety at the
centre of own practice is discussed at the end, along with a discussion on the responsibilities to
be a role model for new staff. The aim is to share personal experiences and expertise with
members of the team to motivate them for new developments.
Analysis of the managing and administering medication policy of the setting
The health care settings in the United Kingdom consider control of medicines through the
Medicines Act (1986) and the related European and British legislation. The medication
management and administration policy has been set in place following the relevant legislations
such as the Medicines Act 1968, the Medicines Act 1972, the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001,
and the Data Protection Act 1998 (Morant et al. 2017). The administration and management of
medicines is acknowledged by the care setting to be an important aspect of professional practice.

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Though medicines contribute substantially to the quality of care, the management of the same
brings in certain risks (Dickinson and O'Flynn 2016). The management body of the health and
social care setting recognizes that it is absolute essential to perform medicine administration and
management in strict adherence with the policy set in place as a result of professional judgment.
The suitable administration of medicines is known to be a common healthcare treatment
provided to service users in the care setting. The setting acknowledges the distinct line of
accountability and responsibility for overseeing health and safety in relation to medicine
administration and management.
The purpose of the health and safety policy focusing on medicine management and
administration are multi-faceted and includes the following-
 To provide a system of management and administration of medicines that has the focus
on needs of the service consumers and care givers
 To ensure that risk assessments are carried out to identify service users needing
assistance with medicines
 To clarify the scope of responsibilities of professionals supporting service users with
medications
 To ensure safe and effective systems for handling, storage and administration of
medicines
 To ensure that all professionals are accountable for their action in relation to medication
administration and management
As per the set policy, all staffs are to be aware of the relevant documentation in relation to
medicine management and administration such as the following-

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 Managing Medicines in Care Homes – NICE Guidelines
 Prompting, assisting and administration of medication in a care setting: guidance for
professionals – Care Inspectorate
 Better Medicines Management – RCN Guidelines
 Standards for Medicine Management - NMC Guideline
The policy also entails health care professionals to be skilled and trained for administering
medicines. The setting provides regular training for ensuring that professionals keep themselves
updated with current practice regulations and procedures. This ensures that professionals are
knowledgeable of the benefits and administration requirements of medicines (Blanchard et al.
2017). Administration of medicines follows a set of key measures that enable the professionals to
adhere to the primary principles of medicine administration. These principles relate to
identification of medicines; identification of the patient; knowledge of the special precautions;
knowledge of allergy to drugs and contra-indications; accurate record keeping of medicine;
effective communication with the pharmacist. Moving on with the policy, the same entails
professionals to order and store medicines in an effective and safe manner. Record keeping is at
the core of medicine management and therefore updated records of medications are to be
maintained. All records are needed to be stored in a safe yet accessible manner. Medication
errors are to be reported when and where required to eliminate the risk of reoccurrence of similar
events.
Monitoring and reviewing is a crucial segment of the process of ensuring health and safety
standards in the care setting. For adding value to the care setting, monitoring of health and safety
in relation to medicine management and administration has been considered for understanding
the underlying causes to non-adherence, if any. The monitoring process up taken by the setting

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examines whether sufficient reporting is done on preventive information as well as incident-led
information. Routine inspections are carried out along with auditing of risk controls ensure that
the health and safety policy is adhered to. A track of changes is kept in relation to new
procedures, processes and equipment. Monitoring also involves evaluation of how supervisors
contribute to health and safety performance. In relation to the review process it is to be said that
the setting has a formal review system that the health and safety policy is useful in the control of
major risks, and protection of the wellbeing of the service providers and users. A review is
carried out annually of the health and safety performance of the organization. The
comprehensive process of review encompasses an assessment to judge whether the policy is
strictly adhered to in alignment with the goals and mission of the organization.
Impact of the managing and administering medication policy
The managing and administering of medicine policy that has been developed in the care
setting helps in promotion of positive safety and health culture. The underlying reason is that
upon implementation of the policy, risks and issues emerging in relation to medicine
management have been resolved in real time. Further, it has been possible to ensure that all staffs
are trained and well equipped for demonstrating medicine administration competencies. This
helps the professionals to fulfill their responsibilities ahead of time. Benefits of the policy for the
staffs encompass reduced stress, increased job satisfaction, enhanced morale and improved sense
of well being (Ludhra 2014). The specific needs of service users can be addressed as a result of
this policy that promotes wellbeing of the individuals. In addition, each professional has a clear
knowledge of the task delegations and responsibilities in relation to maintenance of health and
safety. The effectiveness of the policy helps in creating secure work environment that permits

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growth of safe working practices within the health and social care setting. The ultimate outcome
is achievement of best healthcare outcomes ((Boys and Michie 2007).
Own contribution to putting health and safety at the centre of practice
As a health and social care worker, I acknowledge the need of adhering to the set policies
within the setting for justifying my responsibility towards service users. Factors that contribute to
benefits for the service users and the care organization translate into higher productivity of
professionals like me who aim to work as per the goals and objectives of the setting. This means
that by adopting the best practices and policies pertaining to health and safety I can increase my
productivity. My role in this regard also encompasses reporting non adherence to policies that
indirectly influence care quality. I provide regular updates on issues that my peers experience in
relation to changes in procedures, if any. Regular incident reporting enables me to understand the
additional efforts that are to be given for avoiding undesirable incidents. Through proper
communication I intend to report incidents of non-adherence to policy to the senior authorities. I
perceive it to be my accountability to contribute to the overall functioning of the setting. Lastly,
through continual research I engage in learning advanced methods of contributing to the role of
health and social care worker.
Conclusion
The increasing need to deliver optimal quality health and social care services across care
continuum entails organizations to set in place robust policies that guide service delivery
approach. Health and safety aspects have drawn significant attention in the recent past as the path
to ensure best outcomes of service delivery. It has been acknowledged that health care settings
are to maintain certain policies at the workplace in accordance with regulations and acts that are

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implemented in correspondence with the needs. Health care professionals are to adhere to the
policies for comparing their practice with the benchmarked industry standards so as to assess and
improve the level of performance. Further, reviewing and monitoring of the said policies form a
vital element of the process of maintaining health and safety standards in the settings. Though it
is time consuming and takes immense efforts to carry out a successful monitoring and review,
the benefits for the organization are many, including fewer hazards, augmented quality of
services and improved morale among professionals.

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References
Blanchard, C., Livet, M., Ward, C., Sorge, L., Sorensen, T.D. and McClurg, M.R., 2017. The
active implementation frameworks: a roadmap for advancing implementation of comprehensive
medication management in primary care. Research in Social and Administrative
Pharmacy, 13(5), pp.922-929.
Boys, D. and Michie, V. (2007). Health & social care. Oxford: Heinemann.
Dickinson, H. and O'Flynn, J., 2016. Evaluating Outcomes in Health and Social Care 2e. Policy
Press.
Ludhra, S., 2014. Common Sense Guide to International Health and Safety. Routledge.
Morant, N., Azam, K., Johnson, S. and Moncrieff, J., 2017. The least worst option: user
experiences of antipsychotic medication and lack of involvement in medication decisions in a
UK community sample. Journal of Mental Health, pp.1-7.