correctional policy and procedure manual

Specialties Correctional

Published

Has anyone done the ground work for a policy and procedure manual for jails?

I've got a rudimentary P/P manual but it's just a beginning. Of course, keeping it simple has its advantages. Has anyone had court rulings or nursing board rulings about allowing correctional officers (non-nurses) to pass medicines?

I'd be extremely careful letting non-medical personnel administer medication. No, let me rephrase that. I would NOT let any non-medical personnel administer medication. I'd suspect there would be serious potential collateral responsibility in allowing, or worse, ASSIGNING, security to issue meds. We all know the crazy things that can go on in a correctional setting, but you should never put your license at risk. If something happened to that patient, their lawyers would come after you and your license. It's just not worth it.

Concerning a P&P for jails, I'd try locating a jail in your state so that you can be certain of staying with existing law for your area. Contact a few DON's at local jails and arrange a meeting with them. This way you can review the P&P and at the same time get feedback and tips on reasons they may have implemented or amended certain policies.

------------------

Paul Brown, RN, CCHP

webmaster, correctional-nursing.com

Im a correctional head nurse in a rather large jail (1000 inmates) and I would retire my position before I would let a nonmedical person administer medication. Think of the liability! Think of the stress on you, wondering whether the medication was given and given correctly, especially if you signed out for it.

Let the C/O's do what they do best and let medical do what we do best.

Has anyone done the ground work for a policy and procedure manual for jails?

I work at a small jail. 200 inmates. I am the only nurse. I have looked and asked around and never came across a P&P for jails. We use the general rules from the state RE: a list of what medical tx the inmates are entitled to. Also, I developed a medical procedure for certain things such as a suicide policy and procedure, and med pass. I keep it all real simple and short. In my state, the officers can pass meds and are also held liable for any mistake that would cause harm. They have to be trained by a Doctor or an RN. The state says a jail is not a healthcare facility, and it is no different than giving someone their meds at home. The officers do not actually administer, they just deliver/provide it to the inmate. The officers do not apply topicals, ear gtts, eye gtts, injections or any kind of treatment. The inmate is an adult and can apply his/her own ointments and such. The officers do have first aid training and will cleanse an injury and apply butterflys, ice packs etc. if the nurse is out of the building. It took a while for me to get used to the idea. The commander will not let me pass meds as he feels it is a security risk. He and I have passed together maybe 3 times when security was short staffed. I am in charge of the meds and the cart though. I followed the officers on a med pass when I first started there. It was a nightmare, with the inmates surrounding the cart, making all sorts of noise and meds did come up missing. So, I bought a steel cart, solid on 3 sides and developed a procedure for the task. They all hated it at first, guards and inmates, but had to admit, following my new procedure cut med pass from a 2 hour nightmare to a 30 minute task. It is now very safe, no mistakes have occured, nor has any meds come up missing in 2yrs. My Doctor does not want a P&P manual. He thinks it's setting yourself up for failure and creates more liability. He said "it's safer to keep it simple, do what you were trained to do and you'll never have to worry."

Specializes in Correctional Nursing, Geriatrics.

In my state, we are governed by the P & P manual writtten by the contract company we are employed by. It is HUGE! It is based on NCCHC policies, since we are an NCCHC accredited facility. If anyone is looking for ideas on how to write a P & P manual for jail/prison setting, that would be a good place to start. They have a web site.:)

We also have a P&P book form our company (PHS-Prison Health Services) that we go by. It uses the NCCHC as well. There is a NCCHC standards book for jails and for prisons, because there is a difference. I happen to have a jail on one side of my nursing dept. and a prison on the other side, so I definitely know that there is a difference.:) :balloons:

+ Add a Comment