Care workers must be trained and assessed as competent before giving medicines, with an annual competency review. What CQC and NICE expect.
Any care worker who supports people with their medicines must be trained and assessed as competent before doing it alone. CQC says you must not let new staff manage or administer medicines until their competence has been assessed, and NICE recommends an annual review of every worker's medicines knowledge, skills and competence.
Who needs medication training?
Anyone whose role involves supporting people with medicines, whether that is prompting, administering, or managing stock and records. Skills for Care lists medication administration as required training for these workers, in care homes and home care alike.
What should medication training cover?
- The law, and your medicines policy and procedures
- Common types of medicines and what they are used for
- Preparing for, giving and monitoring medicines safely
- Record-keeping, including MAR charts
- Your own role and limits, and when to seek advice
Some tasks need extra, specific training, such as patches, creams, inhalers, eye drops, liquid medicines, or specialist techniques like buccal midazolam.
Is a certificate enough to start giving medicines?
No. NICE guidance for care homes (SC1) and for home care (NG67) says staff should only administer medicines after training and once the employer has assessed them as competent. A competency check is usually an observed medication round, plus questions to test understanding.
How often does medication training need refreshing?
There is no fixed refresher period for the course, but NICE and CQC expect an annual review of each worker's knowledge, skills and competence. Skills for Care adds that you should review training sooner if people's needs change, new medicines or tasks are introduced, or policies change. After a medication error, review that worker's competence straight away.
What records does CQC expect?
CQC says you must keep records of staff competency assessments and when each is due for review. Your medicines policy should also set out induction training, how training needs are identified, how staff are supervised while they learn, and ongoing training for experienced staff.
