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Not person-centred

Posted By gruffthree

"Not person-centred"

About: Dundee Health & Social Care Partnership

(as a carer),

I have written about my sister before. She has frontotemporal dementia and lives alone at home. She has a care package of 17.5 hrs/week. Recently she has been experiencing backache, and I have been in touch with her GP practice and we have an upcoming appointment with a physio.

We manage her pain with OTC paracetamol. The paracetamol is kept in a medicine safe so that she cannot take more than the standard dose. Her carer refused to give her the paracetamol for her pain because it wasn't prescribed. They continued to refuse even when I asked them on the phone to give the painkiller and suggested that I drive the 13 miles to my sister to give her the medication, claiming that it was more than their job was worth.

I feel so disappointed that carers can be so uncaring. The regulations around what carers can and cannot give need to be looked at. This carer would not accept my instruction to administer the paracetamol.

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Responses

Response from Clare Lewis-Robertson, Senior Officer, Business Planning and Information Governance, Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership, Dundee City Council 9 months ago
Clare Lewis-Robertson
Senior Officer, Business Planning and Information Governance, Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership,
Dundee City Council

Submitted on 23/08/2024 at 07:39
Published on Care Opinion at 09:49

Dear Gruffthree

We are sorry for the experience of your sister and that the care staff were unable to support. Care staff are not permitted to administer medication unless prescribed by a GP with a clear record of what medication is to be given and when. This is a standard policy for all providers to ensure the person's safety to provide the correct medication, confirm there are no allergies and no interactions with other medications. Without further information we cannot advise if they could have supported in any other way.

If you would like to contact our complaints team directly on dhscp.complaints@dundeecity.gov.uk with your sisters details, we would be happy to look into the circumstances.

Angela Smith

Interim Head of Health & Community Care

Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by gruffthree (a carer)

Thank you for your response. The care company in question has a medication policy, and section 2.10 of that policy (page 14 of 24) states a person being cared for can be helped to take OTC non-prescription medication where indicated and provided it is established that there is no likely interaction with regular medication. I had been in touch with my sister's GP practice and they had referred her to physio and advised her to take paracetamol. The carers would not accept that information in spite of my giving permission and accepting responsibility for the administration of the paracetamol. I always recorded any doses given in the communication book which I provided.

If the policy version 4.0 February 2017 is no longer in effect then I suggest it be revised, and the standard policy you mention should be issued to those sharing the care of individuals.

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