Administer oral nutritional products to individuals
Overview
This standard covers your role in preparing and administering nutritional products to individuals and monitoring of the effects. This role is complex and will not be the role of all care staff, only those designated to undertake this activity according to their expertise and employer's decisions.
This standard is intended to be used in a variety of care settings including hospitals, nursing and residential homes, hospices, and community settings including the individuals own home and GP surgeries.
Users of this standard will need to communicate effectively to meet individuals' needs and wishes and work in line with health and safety legislation, policy and practices.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
P1. identify and agree the roles and responsibilities of yourself and others in administering oral nutritional products to individuals
P2. provide support to the individual and ensure health and safety measures are implemented at all times
P3. establish consent and access information on administering oral nutritional products to individuals
P4. confirm identity of the individual in accordance with organisational procedures
P5. ensure infection prevention and control methods and personal protective equipment are used
P6. check that all administration records, information leaflets or protocols are available and up to date, referring any illegible directions to the appropriate member of staff before administering any nutritional products
P7. report any discrepancies, omissions or immediate problems you might find to the relevant person in control of the administration and to relevant staff as appropriate
P8. check whether individual has taken any nutritional products recently and be aware of the appropriate timing of nutritional products and check if the individual has any allergies
P9. select, check and correctly prepare the nutritional products according to the administration record or information leaflet
P10. administer the nutritional products in accordance with organisational procedures and in a way which minimises individual pain, discomfort and trauma
P11. check and confirm that the individual actually takes the nutritional products
P12. monitor the individual's condition throughout, recognise any adverse effects and take the appropriate action without delay
P13. maintain the security of nutritional products throughout the process and return it to the correct place for storage
P14. monitor and rotate stocks of nutritional products, maintain appropriate storage conditions and report any discrepancies in stocks immediately to the relevant staff
P15. dispose of waste in accordance with organisational procedures
P16. complete all relevant documentation required for administering oral nutritional products to individuals
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
K1. how to access and interpret all relevant work instructions, legislation, guidelines, policies, procedures and protocols needed to administer oral nutritional products to individuals
K2. the scope and limitations of your own competence, responsibilities and accountability as it applies to your job role
K3. specific procedures for reporting issues which are beyond your competence, responsibilities and accountability
K4. the principles, practice and procedures associated with informed consent
K5. how to obtain positive confirmation of an individual's identity in accordance with organisational procedures
K6. the needs of individuals including issues relating to dignity, confidentiality, and privacy
K7. the importance of applying standard infection prevention and control precautions to the administering of nutritional products and the potential consequences of poor practice
K8. the factors which may compromise the comfort and dignity of individuals during the administration of nutritional products and how the effects can be minimised
K9. the common types of nutritional products and rules for their storage
K10. the effects of common nutritional products relevant to the individual's condition
K11. nutritional products which demand for the measurement of specific physiological measurements and why these are vital to monitor the effects of the nutritional products
K12. the common adverse reactions to nutritional products, how each can be recognised and the appropriate action(s) required
K13. the information which needs to be on the label of nutritional products, both prescribed and non-prescribed, and the significance of the information
K14. the types, purpose and function of materials and equipment needed for the oral administration of nutritional products
K15. the factors which affect the choice of materials and equipment for the administration of nutritional products to individuals
K16. how to read prescriptions/medication administration charts to identify:
a. the nutritional product required
b. the amount required
c. the time and frequency for administration
K17. how to prepare the nutritional product for administration using a non-touch technique
K18. how you would check that the individual had taken their nutritional product
K19. how to dispose of waste in accordance with organisational procedures
K20. how to complete and safely store all relevant documentation in accordance with organisational requirements