As a Brisbane Catholic Education school, Christ the King School must have medical authorisation and parent/legal guardian consent to administer medications to students.
Medication includes:
- non-scheduled and schedule 2 medications (pharmacy and 'over the counter' medicines)
- schedule 3 medications (pharmacist only medicines)
- schedule 4 medications (prescription only medicines)
- schedule 8 medications (controlled drugs).
Students with medication requirements
If your child is required to take medication while at school, parents/legal guardians are to notify the school as soon as possible.
Parents/guardians must complete the relevant forms, including a Request to Administer Medication form, for all medication that needs to be administered by school staff. These consent forms must be updated at the commencement of each school year and at any time throughout the year that a change to the student's medication requirement occurs. This includes when the student ceases taking medication.
We ask that no first dose of any new medication is administered at school due to the potential dangers of an adverse reaction.
Parents/guardians may be asked to provide additional medical advice to ensure the school can safely manage all aspects of medication handling, including:
- student plans
- Substance Management Plan
- Medical Emergency Plan.
Students with medical conditions that require:
- the administration of emergency medication
- additional health support in addition to medication
- additional support or training of school staff for safe administration of medication
Receiving Medication
In accordance with Brisbane Catholic Education's Handling and Storage of Medication process, parents/legal guardians will be asked to complete the 'Student Medication – Parent/Legal guardian Supply & Return' form for the receipt and return of medications at Christ the King School.
Medical Authorisation
Medical authorisation is provided via a pharmacy label (attached to the original or pharmacy-dispensed packaging) indicating the medication has been prescribed to the student by an authorised registered health practitioner. The pharmacy label should detail when and how the medication is to be administered.
Packaging, Labelling and Equipment
Medication must be supplied to the School by a student's parent/legal guardian, except where self-administration is approved.
All medication must be received in its original or pharmacy-dispensed packaging with a pharmacy label attached. The pharmacy label must include:
- the name of the person authorised to take the medication (i.e., the student)
- strength of the medication in the packaging
- dosage to be taken
- date and/or time to be taken
- registered health practitioner's name and date prescription dispensed
- instructions/information for safely administering medication, if required (e.g., to be taken with food, etc.).
Parents must provide all dosing equipment required to facilitate safe administration of medication by Christ the King School staff. This does not include pill-cutters. Where a student is prescribed a dose of medication that requires a tablet to be cut, the medication must be pre-cut and packaged by a pharmacist in a dose administration aid (e.g., Webster-pak).
'As needed' medications
Where the pharmacy label states that a medication is to be provided 'as needed', 'as required' or 'PRN' (pro re nata) etc., written instruction from the student’s registered health practitioner must be received by the school prior to administering the medication. Written instructions must be provided in the following approved form:
A Medication Administration Industruction form will also be required where there is insufficient information on the pharmacy label and or associated action/management plans to enable safe administration of medication, such as changes to dose, time of administration, signs/symptoms to indicate the need for medication administration etc.