Bedside med locker vs drug trolley

[Darknights]

We have med lockers on the wall next to each patient's bed. Nurses are responsible for restocking them or initially stocking them from meds stocked in cupboards in the treatment room.

Our DON has suddenly dictated that we must now purchase a medication trolley for each end of the ward and administer meds from that. It's drawers will contain a box for each patient's meds. She said this will reduce the number of med errors.

As it would take one nurse three hours to administer meds to an end we would have two nurses sharing each trolley so it is supposed to be put in the middle of the corridor with the nurses doing laps between it and the patients. To me this will increase the possibility for errors. I can also see the potential for med charts to not be put back on the right beds etc.

How can a dedicated locker next to each patient result in more errors? I just can't see it, but it is the only system I know.

[Asystole RN]

The effects of a "trolley" or med cart on your facilities medication error rate would highly be dependent upon what the type and rate of the original errors were. Having worked in facilities that have employed both med carts and bedside storage I can tell you that they both have their unique problems and benefits.

The DON's directive is to improve patient safety, if she believes that utilizing med carts will help then so be it. You would really have to talk to her to identify the current issues within the facility and what her rationale is.

I highly suspect this has less to do with medication errors than it does productivity.

[Darknights]

She said it was to decrease errors. As most safety experts talk about having less steps in a process, to lessen the risk of errors....I can't see how administering from a trolley out in the corridor will decrease errors. And it would be less productive, heaps more walking.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

I've used bedside lockers for meds, cupboards in the rooms, and carts.

Having meds in the rooms is definitely best to reduce errors.

Ask your DON how she thinks this will reduce errors? Where is her literature to back it up? It will also be more of a waste of time.

Better get your Reeboks on for running around!