Rationale

Because keeping the children in our care safe is our top priority, Kindercare is committed to ensuring that all reasonable and practicable steps will be taken to ensure we protect the hauora (health) and marutau (safety) of all children in our care.

Policy Details

Oral medication is only to be administered by an authorised employee. For the purposes of this policy, an authorised employee is someone who holds a current First Aid certificate (to be documented on the Administration of Medicine form).  In the absence of an authorised employee for a particular room, the Centre Director, or an authorised person from another room, must administer the medicine.  All authorised employees must have read and signed the procedure outlined below.

Procedure for administering medication

There is always a safe place allocated for medicines in the centre. This safe place must be a designated area that is out of reach of children. All employees must be shown where this ‘safe place’ is as part of their orientation into the centre.

• Ensure the Medicine Chart is filled out with details of medication specified, and then signed by the parents.
• All medication to be administered should be in the original bottles / containers with the appropriate labelling. Medication in syringes, home containers or water bottles is not allowed and will not be administered to the child.
• It is not acceptable for parents to write ‘as needed or required’ on the Medicine Chart under “times to be given at Kindercare”. Parents must write a ‘specific time’ and/or ‘symptom’. In the absence of any symptoms at the time parents have specified that the medication is to be administered, an authorised employee must phone the parent to explain that the child has no symptoms and enquire as to whether the parents still want the medication administered. If parents no longer want the medication administered, they must confirm in writing (email / text) that they have agreed no medication will be given at the specified time. This email/text must be kept on the child’s file in Infocare, under Notes, and recorded on the Medicine Chart. When parents pick up their child at the end of the day, they must sign the Medicine Chart confirming the action taken. If however, we are unable to get hold of the parents, the centre will follow the original instructions and administer the medication, even if there are no symptoms.
• When parents request that Pamol be administered during the day, employees need to ask parents when the last dose of Pamol was given, prior to arriving at Kindercare. Parents also need to stipulate the time the next dose needs to be administered. This information is to be recorded on the Medicine Chart, which the parent must sign. For over-the-counter Pamol and/or cough medication, the dosage stipulated on the bottle must correspond with what the parent has written in the Medicine Chart, otherwise we are unable to administer it. We can only administer it if a doctor has prescribed a dosage for a child that differs from that stated on the bottle.
• Medicines will not be given without daily written authorisation from the parents. If there is no authorisation, the Centre Director or Centre Supervisor must be notified, and they will contact the parent. If parents are not able to come into the centre to sign the form, before the medication can be administered, they must provide authorisation in writing via an email to the centre, or a text message. A copy of this email/text must be kept in the child’s Infocare folder under ‘notes’. When the parent picks the child up at the end of their day, they are still required to then give signed authorisation on the Medicine Chart.
• Read the label carefully. The label must be printed in the English language.
• Prescription medication— Kindercare will only administer medication to a child if the child’s name is on the medication. If it is not the child’s name on the medication, inform the Centre Director or Centre Supervisor, who will contact the parent to notify them that we cannot administer medication that is prescribed to someone else, including medication prescribed for a sibling.
• Non-prescription medication— check that the dosage and purpose of the medication specifies that it can be safely administered to children under the age of 5, and that the information on the medication corresponds with the information that the parent has written down on the Medicine Chart.
• Check the dosage to be given. Ensure that there is a dosage on the bottle, and that it corresponds with what is written on the Medicine Chart.
• Check the time to be given.
• Check the expiry date.
• If there are any discrepancies between what the parent has written on the Medicine Chart and what it stipulated on the medication, please inform the Centre Director or Centre Supervisor and they will contact the parent to inform them of the discrepancies.

NUTRITIONAL AND HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS

• Ensure the label is printed in the English language. An authorised Kindercare employee will only administer these when they are provided by the parent, exclusively for their child, to treat a specific condition or symptom. Parents must provide written authorisation by completing the Medicine Chart, including the purpose and dosage of the supplement, before we will administer these. Supplements must be supplied to Kindercare in the original bottle/packaging etc which an authorised employee will check and add to water at a specific time e.g. morning tea, lunch or afternoon. Because of the health risks associated with water bottles, children will not be allowed to walk around with a water bottle containing the supplement. If the supplement is for treatment of a long-term condition, Kindercare requires the parent to complete the Medicine Chart for Chronic Medication. This will be reviewed monthly. Use the appropriate measure.
• Because accuracy with the dosage is critical, always get another employee to check the dosage measured before it is administered.
• Give the amount as specified. Inform Centre Director or Centre Supervisor if there is a discrepancy between dosage on bottle and Medicine Chart. Centre Director or Centre Supervisor to contact parents to clarify.
• Authorised employees must sign the Medicine Chart when medicine has been given. If for any reason medicine has not been administered at the appropriate time, i.e. child was asleep or child has gone home etc., the employee needs to write the reason and sign the form so this is recorded.
• Return medicine to designated ‘safe place’ immediately.
• If medicine is finished at the centre, empty medication bottles must be sent home with the child.
• Check that the correct medication is being sent home for that child at the end of the day, and on their final day of the week at Kindercare, or last thing on a Friday before the weekend begins. Ensure that parents sign the Medicine Chart when they collect the medication.

EPI-PENS, ASTHMA INHALERS, AND OTHER CREAMS AND EMULSIFIERS FOR SPECIFIC SKIN CONDITIONS (CATEGORY III MEDICATION AS PER MINISTRY OF EDUCATION REGULATIONS)

• Parents’ written authorisation to administer the Epi-pen/Asthma inhaler must be obtained monthly (See Medicine Chart for Chronic Medication).
• Check that the expiry date of the Epi-pen/Asthma Inhaler has been recorded on the Chronic Medication Chart.
• Ensure that employees have current training in the use of the Epi-pen, asthma inhaler etc. and that these employees with the training are named on the Chronic Medication Chart
• An Asthma inhaler and Epi-pen is only to be administered by an authorised employee. This applies to other medical conditions requiring specific treatment e.g. diabetes and administering insulin – which can only be done by an authorised employee, trained in the specific administration of this.
• For other medical conditions with ongoing needs including eczema, nappy rash or other skin conditions requiring emulsifiers, this needs to be recorded on the Chronic Medication Chart which is signed by the parents.
• For any medicines and medical conditions recorded on the Chronic Medication chart, parents must sign this on a monthly basis to confirm usage and dosage. However, should the frequency and dosage of any medication on the Chronic Medication chart change from what is recorded, even for a short period of time, the change in dosage and frequency must be recorded daily on the Medicine Chart during that time period. Parents must also sign and date the Medication Chart daily, over this time. For example: if a child who usually requires an asthma inhaler once a day (as per the Chronic Medication chart) is particularly unwell for a time and requires the inhaler hourly, this change in frequency must be recorded on the Medicine Chart and signed by the parents on a daily basis.

Appendix: Categories of medicine for criterion HS28

Category (i) medicines

Definition - a non-prescription preparation (such as arnica cream, antiseptic liquid, insect bite treatment spray etc) that is:

• not ingested;
• used for the 'first aid' treatment of minor injuries; and
• provided by the service and kept in the first aid cabinet.

Authority required - a written authority from a parent given at enrolment to the use of specific preparations on their child for the period that they are enrolled. The service must provide (at enrolment, or whenever there is a change) specific information to parents about the Category (i) preparations that will be used.

Category (ii) medicines

Definition - a prescription (such as antibiotics, eye/ear drops etc) or non-prescription (such as paracetamol liquid, cough syrup etc) medicine that is:

• used for a specific period of time to treat a specific condition or symptom; and
• provided by a parent for the use of that child only or, in relation to Rongoa Māori (Māori plant medicines), that is prepared by other adults at the service.

Authority required - a written authority from a parent given at the beginning of each day the medicine is administered, detailing what (name of medicine), how (method and dose), and when (time or specific symptoms/circumstances) medicine is to be given.

Category (iii) medicines

Definition - a prescription (such as asthma inhalers, epilepsy medication etc) or non-prescription (such as antihistamine syrup, lanolin cream etc) medicine that is:

• used for the ongoing treatment of a pre-diagnosed condition (such as asthma, epilepsy, allergic reaction, diabetes, eczema etc); and
• provided by a parent for the use of that child only.

Authority required - a written authority from a parent given at enrolment as part of an individual health plan, or whenever there is a change, detailing what (name of medicine), how (method and dose), and when (time or specific symptoms/circumstances) the medicine should be given.

Last review date: 28 July 2022