Posted on: 26 July 2024
CNWL’s Self-Administration of Medicines procedure has been included in Parkinson’s UK self-administration guide as an example of best practice.
The procedure, which was created by CNWL’s Pharmacy team was selected and reviewed by a panel of nurses and pharmacists. It can help support health professionals who want to introduce a self-administration of medication policy for Parkinson’s or better utilise an existing self-administration of medication policy.
Jackie Box, Associate Chief Pharmacist at CNWL said:
“We are delighted that the CNWL Self-Administration of Medicines (SAM) procedure has been recognised by Parkinson’s UK and has been included as an example of best practice in their resource guide to support other Trusts in developing their own Self Administration Procedures. SAM procedures are one of the strategies that can be employed to help support patients’ getting their medication on time."
"As with other time critical medicines any delay or missed doses can cause patient harm. In patients with Parkinson’s ‘on time’ means within 30 minutes of the patient’s prescribed time. Even short delays can worsen symptoms such as rigidity, pain and tremors, increasing the risk of falls. Delays can also increase the risk of aspiration, cause stress, anxiety and issues with swallowing."
"We are committed to the “get it on time agenda”, and are working to improve the uptake of SAM in settings where it is appropriate to do so. We are also looking at other strategies to help ensure patients’ receive their medication on time and HICU are specifically looking at a QI project to improve patient’s with Parkinson’s getting their medication on time.”