Medical Policy

Admission

When the school admits a new boy there is the potential for them to be on prescribed medication. This will be picked up in the pupil induction check list which is completed by the key worker for the new boy.

At this stage the medication officer [Stuart Edwards] will be informed if the pupil is on prescribed medication.

The following is the responsibility of the allocated key worker:

The initial production of a medication recording slip with the information cross-referenced to the appropriate white board on the pupils unit for visual confirmation.

The medication will then be stored in the locked cupboard of the pupils boarding unit in an area dedicated to this individual to stop possible mixing of medications. There will also be an entry onto the DFS system under medication weekly working sheet. It is good practice to inform the staff team of the new pupil’s medication requirements by email.

The source of the medication will be identified and contact made with home to establish re-ordering procedures, this will also be added to the DFS weekly working sheet.

It is important at this stage that information gained from the boys admission forms indicating any allergy to a particular medication or anything else is noted and that this information is made available to the staff team as a whole, there could be implications for the provision of outdoor education if the boy requires medical treatment whilst on a trip or an allergy to a specific food ingredient.

Allergy/ medication information should be added to the allergy/medication list found on the DFS care/medical folder and printed when changed to keep it current for quick reference. The sheet is displayed in the staff office and the staff room.

It can be the case that a new boy is presently undergoing medical intervention from their local NHS PCT. It is good practice for this to continue to aid continuity of care if at all possible. The school will provide support to parents to ensure that all medical appointments outside of our local area are kept.

Staff responsibilities

All members of the care team have to follow the guidance provided for their respective units and also on the medication requirements of the pupils who reside there. This guidance is displayed on the front of the medication cabinets on each unit, the prescribed medication cabinet on middle floor is double-locked and the one on top floor is single locked. Both cabinets are kept behind locked doors. This document is updated when requirements change.

This guidance is included as appendices to this main document.

The provision for day boys is that their medication as required is administered from the medical room on the unit which is age appropriate for them.

The care team is trained to use the school medication system as part of their induction being observed by experienced staff. This is to ensure that the correct procedure to admit prescribed and non-prescribed medication into the school is followed and to ensure that medication can be accounted for and administered correctly. There is an expectation that new members of the care team will undertake the Safe Handling of Medicines Course as recommended by CSCI.

It is important that at the end of each term the medication is counted for the start of the new term thus ensuring that we have all the stock required, allowing parents enough time to respond to our requests. The Head of Care will ask for an end of term stock take on prescribed and non prescribed medication.

Administration

The admission of prescribed and non-prescribed medication involves checking that the medication amount written on the packet matches the number of tablets contained within upon delivery to the school. Any discrepancy in these amounts will be reported to the school medications officer (Head of Care) for their immediate investigation.

When this has been completed the member of staff who is doing the check should enter into the medication amount into the working weekly document on the DFS (the details will include the name of the pupil, the amount of drug being admitted, the strength of the drug being admitted and the total amount of drug in stock at that time) and then sign it. It is the Head of Care’s responsibility to ensure that this document is filled in at the end of each week and saved as an archive file.

Parents are informed that under no circumstances are boys to bring medication into the school; it has to be in the control of an adult at all times or sent by special delivery. Also, to make any changes in medication the school must receive the request in written format from the person who has clinical responsibility for the pupil in question. It is not acceptable under any circumstances to change any level of medication on a parents say so.

When dispensing the prescribed medication the amount and the times of administration of these medications will be indicated in two places. The first of these is on the boy’s actual medication slip which is held in a plastic wallet in his name and the second for ease of reference is a white board displayed in both medication rooms on which a grid is drawn providing names, times, amount of medication and type of medication to be given for the boys who reside there. This information should correlate directly to that provided on the medication slip, if for any reason it does not then the medication officer (Head of Care) should be informed immediately. In the case of a boy not being in school the medication slip for this period must reflect this. It is not acceptable practice just to leave the slip blank for the dates of the boy’s absence.

In the case of a boy needing prescribed medication whilst on a school trip such as outdoor education, it is the responsibility of the trip leader to take the medication with them and to sign the appropriate slip in the medication cabinet upon their return.

A half-termly check is made as to the consumption of non-prescribed medication; this is to ensure that no one boy is developing a pattern of taking Paracetamol (or other non-prescribed medication) that may possibly indicate headaches due to an incorrect optical prescription are occurring, or overuse of non-prescribed drugs for other reasons.

All non-prescribed medication has its own recording sheet in both of the medication storage cupboards. The sheets must be consulted before any non-prescribed medication is administered to ensure that dosages and timings are within recommended requirements for the boy’s age as directed by the manufactures packaging.

When medication is no longer required it is taken to Boots chemist in Thirsk to be destroyed, an entry is made into the pharmacists log that this has taken place.

First aid

The school has trained First Aid staff on the teaching and care teams who provide a 24 hour cover for all the pupils. Their training is updated every three years. First aid boxes are located in nineteen places through the school including the school minibuses. The contents of these boxes are monitored by the Head of Care on a termly basis to ensure it meets the required standard.

Hygiene

As a school we feel that it is very much part of our role to promote good levels of personal hygiene for all the boys. This comes in the form of pursuing good dental hygiene and ensuring that all the boys have the adequate provision of shampoos and shower gels that they will be happy to use on a daily basis. We will ensure that the boys are changing their clothes on a regular basis and that staff are always sensitive to specific issues that may cause distress to a young person.

Diet

It is important that we look at the provision of foods that we supply for the boys. There is always a good choice of food available with selections to suit all tastes. Special diets can be catered for if required and we promote the partnership of school and home working together to meet the needs of all the boys. The staff team sit at different tables to monitor the eating habits of the boys and will feedback to the Head of Care any concerns if a boy is not eating enough or the food that is available is not to his liking. The kitchen team can quickly respond to individual needs as required without stigmatising the pupil in question.

Review

The process of administering medication to the boys is continuously monitored by the medication officer [Head of Care] who is advised by the whole staff team regarding improvements to the service the school offers to the children.

Flat/Middle and Top floor Floor Medication (Prescribed and Non-Prescribed) Procedure

Prescribed & Non-Prescribed Medication;

Any non-prescribed medication given i.e. Paracetamol, medication that contains Paracetamol, cough medicine, etc, must be recorded by the member of staff that dispenses it to the child, on the form attached to the front of the medical cabinet. 1. Paracetamol and Ibuprofen have their own recording sheets to facilitate tracking of these medications.
All the compartments of the non-prescribed medication form must be filled in appropriately, writing the date, pupil’s name, the medication given, the quantity and the reason for giving it, the time it was given.
It is vital that the medication is taken and swallowed in front of the member of staff dispensing it; do not under any circumstances allow children to take the medication later unsupervised.
Paracetamol or medications containing Paracetamol from Middle/Flat unit cabinet can only be given to the boys living on the middle & flat floors or the dayboys of the appropriate age. No boys living on the other floors can receive the ‘said’ medications from this cabinet. Top floor boys must only receive non prescribed medication from their unit.
If a member of staff needs medication for themselves the same procedure applies i.e. writing it up on the non-prescribed medication sheet.
On Friday evening the member of staff doing a stock check of prescribed medication must also carry out a stock check of all non-prescribed oral medication. This information is to be noted and recorded on the non-prescribed medication sheet on the DFS medication record as per the levels of prescribed medication.

Prescribed Medication:

The prescribed Medication will be kept in the packaging that it was dispensed in and counted on a Friday evening to ascertain the amount of medication left for the pupil. Only Designated members of the Care Team are responsible for this part of the procedure. If these members of staff are absent, the Head of Care is responsible for carrying out this stock check for the forthcoming week.

The Designated person must double-check this to ensure that this has been carried out correctly.

To ascertain who needs medication at what time, can be done by viewing the big white board and looking in the individual’s medical wallet and checking the original packet.
The medication will be given out by bringing the pupil to the area where their medication is held at the appropriate time of day.
When the boy has taken the medication and has been seen to swallow it, the medication must be returned to the place it was obtained from i.e. the secure cabinet.
On returning it, the member of staff who gave out the medication, must sign in the on the white MARS sheet for that pupil, using their initials.

Members of staff taking trips out (i.e. Outdoor Education)

The member of staff taking trips out of school, including outdoor-education are responsible for going through the above procedure and collecting the medication required for their days activities.
The member of care staff on duty that morning will take the appropriate medication and MARS packet to the staff office to lock in the medication cabinet.
The member of staff taking the outdoor education trip will go to the staff office to retrieve the MARS pack, which will contain that boy’s medication for the trip, from the locked medication cabinet.
The member of staff on outdoor education will return the MARS pack to the staff office locked medication cabinet at the end of outdoor education.
The member of care staff on duty that evening will return the pupils MARS pack to the unit once it has been returned to the staff office.

Updated 01.11.11

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