The Welsh government has issued guidance on dispensing to children to help community pharmacists decide when it is appropriate to hand medicines to young carers.

The guidance, produced by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), is intended to help pharmacists "strike the right balance" between supporting and safeguarding carers under the age of 18, the Welsh government said when it issued the guidance last week (June 13).

The RPS said the decision to supply medicines to young children on behalf of an adult should be dealt with on a "case by case" basis and pharmacists should be prepared to justify their choice and make records if appropriate.

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	Pharmacists should consider a list of eight factors, including the maturity of the child, proof of their identity and the nature of the medicine, it said.

Welsh health minister Mark Drakeford said the guidance had been produced in response to calls from charity Young Carers Network for pharmacists to "recognise and engage appropriately" with young Welsh carers who collected prescriptions for someone else on a regular basis.

"Young carers obviously want to be able to pick up prescriptions easily but pharmacists also have an obligation to consider safeguarding issues around handling dispensed medicines," he added.

These carers were "actively encouraged" to use the same pharmacy to collect medicines, but pharmacists needed "appropriate procedures" in place for when this was not possible, the Welsh government said.

The guidance

The following are some of the factors pharmacists may want to consider when deciding whether the supply of dispensed medicines is appropriate or not.

1. Knowledge of the child Is the child known to the pharmacy? What information is known? 2. Maturity of the child Is the pharmacist satisfied the child is capable and competent to understand the importance of the medicines they are collecting? Are you satisfied there are no further concerns with them delivering the medicines? 3. Nature of the medicine(s) supplied What are the medicines being collected? Is there any applicable misuse potential? Is the pharmacist confident the child will not misuse or tamper with the medicine? 4. Prior arrangement Does the child regularly collect medicines from the pharmacy? Is the collection by the child pre-arranged by the patient? For example, an advance phone call by the patient or a letter of explanation. 5. Reason for collection Is there a persuasive reason why the child is collecting the medicine in the circumstances? For example, is collection on behalf of a patient who has mobility problems or is the child expected to self-medicate? 6. Counselling Does the patient require counselling? How will this be given? If the patient is the child, are they able to understand? 7. Local policies Are there any local policies which you should consider in your pharmacy or your local area? 8. Proof of Identity In some circumstances, such as with the supply of schedule two controlled drugs, the pharmacist will usually ask to see identification of the collecting patient or representative. Children may not have ID to show and professional judgment can be used to decide if a supply is appropriate without identification.

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