Medication administration - DIV2s and PCAs - the legalities

[whochick]

We were talking today in a uni tut how wrong it is that PCAs are legally exempt from litigation if they give medications to patients, where DIV2 nurses can be sued in instances of adverse reaction. Basically what the government is saying is that DIV2s should know better, so they get the stick ... whereas PCAs don't know anything so we can't hold

Comments

[phlegethon_vii]

That's kinda scary, in a timebomb waiting to go off kinda way.

[whochick]

My point exactly ;) It's ludicrous that PCAs face no legal repercussions for potential medication errors and near-misses. It's even more ludicrous that agencies and employers are putting them in a position of potentially contributing to someone's death!

The right qualification for the task - what ever happened to it?

[julesmond]

Very good point - at least PCAs are only supposed to give meds from dose administration aids (like dosettes and websterpaks) right?

It always worries me, what are the residents actually getting?

[whochick]

I hear what you're saying about the dosettes and websters, but how often as a nurse have I realised that the wrong pill has ended up in there? Sometimes it's as simple as the wrong dosage of the right drug, but I've seen some more serious issues too.

And again, for example - I've seen digoxin in a websters before. Even if the PCA takes a pulse (as directed by nursing home policy) before giving the meds, they have no training regarding why they're taking it, what it means, or when not to give the digoxin. If it's in the pack, the patient gets it - simple.

I think if you're going to give a medication, you should know what it is, what it does, how it does it, why they're getting it, what can go wrong and when not to give it.

When you don't have trained people administering, it doesn't matter how careful or competent the pharmacist is ... so much can go wrong :(

What's to be done about it, I wonder? Will it take a publicised near-miss, or even worse - a death?