Medicines Management Policy - Dudley Primary Care Trust

7.7 All medicines shall be returned to lockable medicine cupboards when not in use
except for emergency drug kits e.g. Cardiac Arrest Boxes, which shall be stored
in a manner not obvious to the general public.
7.8 Stocks must be checked on a monthly basis for out of date items. Except for
controlled drugs, all out of date medicines generated by healthcare
professionals, must be disposed of in the waste container and transported back
to the base/clinic for collection via the waste collection service for surgeries and
clinics.
For disposal of Controlled drugs see section 10 and Disposal of a
patient/client’s own medication see section 13
7.8 Where an area is covered by the Service Level Agreement with Dudley Group
of Hospitals (DGoH) Pharmacy department, the PCT staff and the Hospital
Pharmacy staff are responsible for ensuring that the stock is appropriate to the
field of practice and that the stock remains in date. The healthcare professional
is responsible for ensuring that systems are followed the stock is kept tidy and
clean and is stored in a way that facilitates ease of use. Where an area is not
covered by the SLA, then the Head of Medicines management and healthcare
professional staff are responsible
7.9 It is the healthcare professional’s responsibility to ensure that any medications
administered by them appear to be of suitable quality for use and have been
stored according to manufacturer’s guidance. If a defect is suspected the
guidance in section 5.4 must be followed.
7.10 If items are required to be refrigerated then a lockable medicines fridge must be
used for drug storage only. The temperature should be recorded regularly (daily
or each time the area is used if less frequently than daily) with a
maximum/minimum thermometer on an audit sheet.
7.11 Storage in a drug trolley
Drug trolleys must be secured to the wall when not in use. When unlocked they
must be supervised by a member of staff at all times (preferably two, in case
one gets called away). The members of staff are responsible for ensuring that
the trolley is always supervised and must lock the trolley if the contents are not
under direct observation. When a drug round is in progress the drug trolley lid
must be closed if the contents are not in direct sight i.e. turning away to give an
item to a patient. In an emergency the trolley may be left locked but not secured
to a wall, however reasonable steps should be taken to prevent this happening.
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