​​​Rationale

It is obvious that students need to receive both short term and long term medication for a variety of medical conditions. The following policy seeks to clarify the responsibilities of parents, students and school staff in the Administering of medications. The following policy was determined by the Department of Health, Department of Education, the University of Queensland and private paediatricians and has been endorsed by the Brisbane Catholic Education Centre.

General

1. Should medication prescribed by the student’s medical practitioner be required to be administered while the student is at school or involved in school-approved activities, a parent/legal guardian must, in the first instance, make a written request to the Principal of the school.
2. A teacher or other adult person on the school staff authorised by the Principal, may take responsibility for giving medication to a student while at school or while involved in school approved activities, following such written request from a parent/legal guardian.
3. The pharmacist at the medical practitioner’s direction should write where a teacher or other adult person on the school staff authorised by the Principal to give medication to a student, is to administer medication, the instructions provided on the medication container. The teacher or other person should not accept the instructions solely of the parent/legal guardian. The instructions on the medication container need to indicate specific times at which medication is to be administered, as well as the quantity of medication to be administered.
4. At no time should any medication provided for one student is administered to another student.
5. At all times. Medication must be kept in a secure place (one exception in selected cases, is that of inhaler therapy for asthma).
6. All unused medication is to returned to the parent/legal guardian of the student.

Oral Medication

1. A teacher or other adult person on the school staff authorised by the Principal to give medication to a student may give oral medication. However, as per the “Workplace Health and Safety” ruling, we are not allowed to administer any medication to a child without a signed consent form / letter from a registered medical practitioner. This form is available via the following link:
   

Record Keeping

1. An official register for the administration of medication to students must be maintained and must contain a record of all occasions when medication is administered to a student.
2. Each entry in the register is to be completed by the authorised persons (minimum 2) administering the medication, immediately after the medication is administered.
3. Each entry in the register must contain the following;
   a) The date the medication was administered
   b) The time the medication was administered
   c) The name of the student receiving the medication
   d) The name of the medication administered
   e) The exact dosage of medication administered
   f) The method of administering the medication
   g) The name of the people on the school staff authorised by the Principal to give medication to the student to which the register entry refers, or in the case of rectal medication, the names of the person on the school staff authorised by the Principal to give medication to the student for which suitable arrangements have been entered into between a parent/legal guardian, the Principal and the authorised person
   h) the signature of the people administering the medication
4. The written request from the parent/legal guardian who requested the administration of medication must be hold and kept with the register.
5. In effect, the documentation referred to in (d) above represents an agreement among the parties as to the arrangements made in respect of the administration of medication.
   

Procedures

1. When enrolling a student, parents need to complete a student health form. This health form will be upgraded at the beginning of each year. This form will be filled in the student file in the central office.
2. If a student requires regular medication, prescribed by a medical practitioner, the Principal must be notified in writing from a parent. This letter is to be on the form provided. This form (see attached) is available at the school office.
3. This request form will be filed at the central office in a separate medication file.
4. The Principal, or his/her designated agent, has the responsibility for administering such prescribed medication.
5. An official register for the Administration of Medication to students will be maintained. This register will contain a record of all occasions when a medication is administered.
6. Non-prescribed oral medications (such as analgesics and over the counter medication are NOT to be administered by teachers or other members of the School staff.

Any teacher asked by parents to administer medication needs to refer the parents to the Principal. Parents will be requested to complete the request form.