S4 and S8 drug books - a bit rambly, sorry

[bethem]

Hi Aussie nurses, especially those of you from NSW.

I am wondering about legislation surrounding the drug registers. At one hospital, the rule was when you finish a page, you carried forward to the next available page, regardless of what drugs were on the surrounding pages. At another, they have, say, morphine 10mg amps on pg 54. They finish page 54, and the next available blank page is page 58. But! On page 57, they have MS Contin. The nurses then decide to leave page 58 blank, so when the MS Contin on page 57 is full, it can carry over to 58. The morphine, then, ends up on page 60 instead.

What I am concerned about is leaving a blank page. I thought we had to just go for the next available page regardless, but I don't have a source to back me up. I can only find legislation to say the book itself has to have consecutively numbered pages, nothing to say they have to be filled consecutively. (And information to say that each register costs $23 - there goes the ward budget!). Any ideas?

[nyapa, RN]

It sounds like yours are different to ours. We have columns, above each column is listed the medication, and then as you give it, you count down the amount. Thus we do use the next page. I would have thought you would not be allowed to leave blank pages...a bit like notes...