At CJ’s Little Pickles we promote the good health of children attending nursery and take necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection (see sickness and illness policy). If a child requires medicine we will obtain information about the child's needs for this, and will ensure this information is kept up to date.
We follow strict guidelines when dealing with medication of any kind in the nursery and these are set out below.
Medication prescribed by a doctor, dentist, nurse or pharmacist:
Prescription medicine will only be given to the person named on the bottle for the dosage stated that is printed on the pharmacy label.
Medicines must be in their original containers
Those with parental responsibility for any child requiring prescription medication should hand over the medication to the most appropriate member of staff who will then note the details of the administration on the appropriate form and another member of staff will check these details
Those with parental responsibility must give prior permission for the administration of each and every medication via the Famly Platform. If the Famly platform fails to record the permission due to a network error; then a paper copy will be need to be completed.
Children will need to have had 24 hours of their prescribed medication to ensure there is no allergic reaction.
Parents will have to inform the nursery when the last dose was given to ensure that the next dose is administered according the advised timescales noted on the medication.
You will be informed if your child refuses or spits out the medication. This will be noted down on the Famly platform and another dose will not be administered as staff will not be able to measure the amount of medication taken.
Non-prescription medication:
The nursery will not administer any non-prescription medication other than teething powders or gels. Administration times for these will be recorded.
The nursery will administer Calpol with the parents’ permission which will be sought before administration. Any child given Calpol when at the nursery will need to be collected immediately. If parents are unobtainable then the next emergency contact will be called.
For any non-prescription cream for skin conditions e.g. Sudocream, prior written permission must be obtained from the parent and the onus is on the parent to provide the cream which should be clearly labelled with the child's name.
If any child is brought to the nursery in a condition in which he/she may require medication sometime during the day, the manager will decide if the child is fit to be left at the nursery. If the child is staying, the parent must be asked if any kind of medication has already been given, at what time and in what dosage and this must be stated on the medication form
As with any kind of medication, staff will ensure that the parent is informed of any non-prescription medicines given to the child whilst at the nursery, together with the times and dosage given.
Staff medication:
All nursery staff have a responsibility to work with children only where they are fit to do so. Staff must not work with children where they are infectious or too unwell to meet children's needs. This includes circumstances where any medication taken affects their ability to care for children, for example, where it makes a person drowsy. If any staff member believes that their condition, including any condition caused by taking medication, is affecting their ability they must inform the manager and seek medical advice.
Where staff may occasionally or regularly need medication, any such medication must be kept in the staff room medication cabinet clearly labelled; this includes asthma inhalers and paracetamol. In all cases it must be stored out of reach of the children. It must not be kept in the first aid box and should be clearly labelled with the name of the member of staff.
Storage:
All medication for children must have the child's name clearly written on the original container and kept in either one of the medication cabinets, in one of the fridges or in the case of medication such as EpiPens or asthma inhalers they can be stored in the staff room: in all cases medication must be stored out of reach of all children.
Emergency medication, such as inhalers and EpiPens, will be within easy reach of staff in case of an immediate need, but will remain out of children's reach.
Any antibiotics requiring refrigeration must be kept in a fridge inaccessible to children.
All medications must be in their original containers, labels must be legible and not tampered with or they will not be given. All prescription medications should have the pharmacist's details and notes attached to show the dosage needed and the date the prescription was issued. This will all be checked, along with expiry dates, before staff agree to administer medication.