Monitoring medication - some questions

[sarah707]

A few questions for you all to ponder please :D

If you store medication for childminded children how do you monitor / audit expiry dates?

Do you think it is important to have evidence to show Ofsted that stored medication is audited regularly and replaced as needed?

Would you be prepared to pay for a company to monitor medication expiry dates for you and inform you / children's parents when medication was about to go out of date?

If you would be prepared to pay for the service... how much money would you consider it was worth paying a month / year?

Thank you Pauline for giving permission for me post this xx

[dobby]

I would not pay for this and dont think I would think of needing it to be honest. I keep supplies of pancreatic enzyme supplement for a child who has Cystic Fibrosis,but as she needs this every day we get through it quite quickly. I am not being much help here am I? :rolleyes:

[Trouble]

you can join an epipen website and they send you an alert via internet but i dont think you pay

i wouldnt pay but im a cleaning freak and check our stuff regular :cool: :blush:

[rosebud]

I wouldn't pay for it. I don't usually store medication here but if a child had long term needs and it was stored here I would just find a way to monitor it myself - perhaps checking the dates at the same time as I do my regular risk assessments or something.

[Maza]

I wouldn't want to pay. Mmmm, do need to think about a system for monitoring it and recording that I am doing so. Thank you.

[The Juggler]

i certainly wouldn't pay for it Sarah and nor would I keep a log of dates and check them. I'm more for a common sense approach on this one, check the dates regularly but you know me I'm a bit of a shirker when it comes to paperwork :laughing:

[Playmate]

I would not pay for this service either. I always check expiry dates before given medication and If I discovered it was coming to the end of its shelf life I would advise parents and ask for it to be replaced. Our medcine cupboard is checked 6mthly so I replace anything that is coming to an end.:D

[Pipsqueak]

A few questions for you all to ponder please :D

If you store medication for childminded children how do you monitor / audit expiry dates?


I rely on good old fashioned manual checking
Do you think it is important to have evidence to show Ofsted that stored medication is audited regularly and replaced as needed?
Important to demonstrate to Ofsted.... no not really

Would you be prepared to pay for a company to monitor medication expiry dates for you and inform you / children's parents when medication was about to go out of date?
Definately not no
If you would be prepared to pay for the service... how much money would you consider it was worth paying a
month / year?

Thank you Pauline for giving permission for me post this xx

Hope that helps Sarah

[Mouse]

I can't see that I would need a service like that & wouldn't pay for it.

If it was for a medication that was stored here, but rarely used, I think I'd put a note on the inside of the medcine cupboard with the expiry date writted on it.

[Penny1959]

I am another one who would not pay for this service.

I use common sense I check the bottle if in doubt - ie if something that not use on a regular basis. The stuff used every day tends to get used quickly and well before the use by date.


As you know Sarah my personal medication items are many insulin and 8 different tablets - but I do not an issue with dates'

If I discovered a child's medication was nearly out of date I would inform parents - and write that in my diary. If I found something that was actually out of date, I would dispose of it appropriately and write in my diary that I had done so. These entries in my diary are I feel sufficent evidence for Ofsted.

Penny :)

[Chatterbox Childcare]

No I don't pay for it and I check the date of the boxes at the beginning of each term. I know that they aren't due but just to be safe I do it.

Having it written into your policies should be enough for Ofsted to see I think

[Tink]

A few questions for you all to ponder please :D

If you store medication for childminded children how do you monitor / audit expiry dates?
I would check it along side my monthly audit and risk assessment. I keep a list in my medicine cupboard of dates anyway so I know when to replace it.
Do you think it is important to have evidence to show Ofsted that stored medication is audited regularly and replaced as needed?
I think so, we are in charge of children's needs when parents are not here, we need to maintain a regular check of medication and replace as required.
Would you be prepared to pay for a company to monitor medication expiry dates for you and inform you / children's parents when medication was about to go out of date?
No, I am quite capable of doing this, as it would be part of the monthly audit and risk assessment.
If you would be prepared to pay for the service... how much money would you consider it was worth paying a month / year?
I honestly couldn't put a price on this, wouldn't know where to start?
Thank you Pauline for giving permission for me post this xx

Hope this help Sarah, it's usually me asking you the questions :laughing:

[boxtree7]

Why would you need this service.
I wouldn't require this and if I did I would not pay.

[miffy]

If it was for a medication that was stored here, but rarely used, I think I'd put a note on the inside of the medcine cupboard with the expiry date writted on it.

I would do this too. I wouldn't consider paying for a service like that - feel we have to pay out enough as it is and can't think that I would need to use it very often.

As for Ofsted, I sometimes lose the will to live with all the paperwork I might need to show Ofsted that actually I have some common sense and can use it!

Miffy xx

[sarah707]

Thank you so much for all your feedback guys it is appreciated.

Does anyone else have a viewpoint - positive or negative? :D

[QualityCare]

If its medication for minded children surly its down to the parents to ask if its out of date, yes we can check when we use it and tell parents but ultimately its their responsibility. When my son was in school l would take in a new inhaler each term as the school was not going to check it for me, and l knew it wouldn't
go out of date.

[rickysmiths]

A few questions for you all to ponder please :D

If you store medication for childminded children how do you monitor / audit expiry dates?

I would check when the parent gave it to me and when it was used. I would not ever keep medication 'just in case' only if it was used regularly anyway.

Do you think it is important to have evidence to show Ofsted that stored medication is audited regularly and replaced as needed?

Only in so far as if I had do do this for a child I would add a Child based RA to cover it. It would also be logged on a Long Term Medication form and I would note the expiry date on that as well.

Would you be prepared to pay for a company to monitor medication expiry dates for you and inform you / children's parents when medication was about to go out of date?

Definitely not!

If you would be prepared to pay for the service... how much money would you consider it was worth paying a month / year?

Thank you Pauline for giving permission for me post this xx

Sorry I didn't respond to this earlier, I haven't seen this post before for some reason.:(

[WibbleWobble]

when i was a young girl and i had a "real job" as a nurse, phramacy would come and check the meds in the cupboards to see if any were expired/ about to expire.

this was really just to be cost effective (the ones going to be out of date soon would be put at the front of the shelf)

BUT it was up to me the nurse to check the expirey date on every medication or other item with exp on it (eg dressings pack). i did not have to sign it was in date - signing the wardex as med given was suffice - and i feel that if thats good enough for the NHS with all its red tape its good enough for ofsted.- if i sign i have given the med (and in my med proceedure it states " the medication is checked for exp date") then its a sign i have checked the date


sorry if a bit rambling

mandy xxx

[sonia ann]

Old habits die hard and as an ex-nurse I always check expiry dates on medication at every use anyway .
But it is very simple to record the expiry dates on the medication permission form and I feel this is enough to satisfy Ofsted.

[buildingblocks]

A few questions for you all to ponder please :D

If you store medication for childminded children how do you monitor / audit expiry dates?

No longer keep any medication in the setting and none at the moment with long term medication which is the only kind I might consider)

I have never kept any medication here apart from when I first started 8 years ago when I did keep Calpol and some eczema treatment here for one family because of the hours they were here and the fact that if Dad dropped off then nothing came with the child.

In those days I did a monthly check of medications with my monthly check on the first aid kits and would hand back to parents and they would replace

Do you think it is important to have evidence to show Ofsted that stored medication is audited regularly and replaced as needed?

Yes and no. I don't think it is necessary for Ofsted but then again they may ask you to prove how you do this - but think it is good practise for ourselves

Would you be prepared to pay for a company to monitor medication expiry dates for you and inform you / children's parents when medication was about to go out of date?

some people might but I personally wouldn't for the reason stated above that I would check monthly myself

If you would be prepared to pay for the service... how much money would you consider it was worth paying a month / year?

Thank you Pauline for giving permission for me post this xx

I am presuming you are referring to medications such as calpol or prescribed medications I still do a monthly check of the nappy creams, teething gels that I keep here with my first aid kits. My medications forms ask for details such as expiry dates and I check that the info on the form matches that on the box (medicine has to be provided in its original box).

Parents are told I cannot give any medicine that doesn't match up and have had to refuse a parent who provided a medication that was over 4 months out of date a couple of years ago as wouldn't have put it past parent to sue me if anything went wrong.