It had been a quiet duty week for me. Sometimes it’s like that. Then the phone goes and it’s an interesting one! Someone looking for guidance on recording medication. An unusual call as it's not for one of the young people that we look after.
I had some knowledge of the careful, behind the scenes planning that had been undertaken by the team for the young person in our care to have his brother for an overnight. Risk assessment completed, discussion with the relevant social workers and a plan in place for the weekend to keep both young people active and stimulated.
However, you cannot always plan for everything, and on this occasion, it was the medication that the young person arrived with for his sleepover. There was a controlled drug coming into the house.
I remember this call as a positive one, as due to our commitment to the value and importance of the relationships between brothers and sisters and the principles that underpin The Promise, the question I was asked by the Manager was ‘how can we make this happen?’ not if it could.
To all intents and purposes, this had no impact on the sleepover going ahead. It did however create anxiety, with those charged with looking after the young people, about the ramifications were this medication not recorded properly. As part of the senior team, I could reduce that anxiety and support a solution. The boys had a great weekend.