Due to the ongoing derailment of the RIAT thread I thought it best to start a new one.
What are your thoughts on Cadets and Medication, how do you manage it and do you limit non-prescription medication such as pain killers.
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It should be simple but it isnt.
Under 16 years old - parental consent. Administer within dosage recommendations
16 years old and older- they can legall buy it so let them self manage.
Whilst no longer true, I’ve previously been a civilian-qualified First Aid instructor/assessor through Nuco Training.
The wording has always been that you can help someone to take their own medicine, but cannot administer any yourself. So if someone is anaphylactic you can uncap the EpiPen, hold it to their thigh, but they must then press the injector themselves. This is because First Aiders hold no training in the administering of medication.
This extends to even simple medication such as paracetamol and ibuprofen. If someone has it on their person they can take it, but as a First Aider you absolutely shouldn’t be giving them any from your own pack.
Worst case scenario is that someone has a bad ankle so you give them ibuprofen from your own pack. It transpires that that individual has an allergy to it, enters anaphylaxis and dies. Good Samaritan Law is absolutely not going to cover you on that one.
Note: this is for First Aid situations only, not for routine medication where Loco Parentus comes into play due to us being youth workers. The 2 topics are separate.
That’s no longer the case, legislation changed in 2012 and anyone can give someone an epipen now.
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Huh, TIL.
My school has made us do an online course on administering medication - does RAFAC not?
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shhhh… or there will be another mandatory online training we’ll have to click through…
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Whilst this is whats said in training, theres no legal basis for it. Adrenaline 1:1000 (The drug In EpiPens) is a Schedule 19 Drug meaning that its Exempt from Regulation 214(2) of the Human Medicine Regulations
“ (2) A person may not parenterally administer (otherwise than to himself or herself) a prescription only medicine unless the person is—
(a)an appropriate practitioner other ]; or
(b)acting in accordance with the directions of such an appropriate practitioner.”
The same exemption is why in Scotland, members of the public can carry IntraMuscular Naloxone for the reversal of Opiod Overdoses due to it being a Schedule 19 drug.
I’ve always said that despite being told not to, I’d alwyas administer an Epi pen for someone. Many of the Anaphylaxis I’ve been to are generally that panicked that they wouldnt be able to administer it themselves 
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Shame the alcohol policy doesn’t work the same way for 18 year olds 
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So what are peoples thoughts of Cadets turning up with their own prescription and non-prescription medication to events and how do you manage it?
If it’s prescription, I’d expect it to be on their TG23 with instructions on how the cadet should take it.
If it’s non-prescription, I’d ask them to ensure they informed the staff when they had taken it and this would be logged in writing.
Can give Paracetamol/Ibuprofen/Chlorphenamine. Aslong as you stick to the doses in JRCALC.
Obviously can only give them the 1 dose, can’t give any away for later etc
That so what they are allowed to do but what does the RAFAC allow?
Certainly when I was trained as an AT instructor at Llanbedr we were told we could give things like paracetamol or ibuprofen (over the counter medication) as long as it wasn’t on the TG23 not to and you spoke to the Cadet and double checked things like allergies.
Yep. Been told the same on AT courses. Then been told the complete opposite on FA courses…
I don’t attend RAFAC first aid courses anymore, I have seen some shockingly poor instructors over the years.
Been to SJA FA courses they say the same, cannot give any medication except Aspirin for heart attack
Same. I do however take some of this with a pinch of salt and I would make a decision based on a wide variety of circumstances as to whether I give over the counter stuff such as painkillers - e.g. do we need to keep going and this would help, are they confident they have taken it before with no ill effects, do I have signal to call a parent… etc etc. But I would generally only do that in an AT environment when we are quite a way away from the opportunity for said participant to sort their own supply out.
All balanced with a overall thought of ‘would I be happy defending this decision if something goes wrong’.
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Exactly this, we shouldn’t routinely be needing to give out paracetamol etc but if we need to then we need to.
On the same theme (and I appreciate we are heading a tad off topic) is there anything that says cadets can’t bring their own to a camp such as RIAT (back on topic).
I’ve seen joining instructions where staff have decreed that Cadets are not to to bring them. Whereas for me they would be something I would 100% include in a personal first aid kit. (Especially since I usually operate in the DofE and AT world where aches and pains are part of the game.
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anyone seen a
???
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