Medication training for care workers: a free pack for your staff and managers
A staff session, a manager briefing, a quiz with a training record, and a rollout guide, built on CQC and NICE guidance for adult social care, and free by email. Or have us tailor it and run it for you, on a branded company site, from £399.
Care providers must train every member of staff who supports people with their medicines, and must assess each person’s competence before they manage or give medicines.
Take the free pack and run it yourself, or have us tailor it and run it for you: a branded company site with your training content, every member of staff invited and reminded by email, and a certificate for every completion, from £399 per company. Neither replaces your competency assessment.
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Is training required? | Yes, for every worker who supports people with medicines, with the training each role needs set out in your medicines policy. |
| Can staff give medicines straight after it? | No. You assess each person’s competence first, through a formal process, and record it. |
| What should it cover? | The tasks each role carries out and the medicines systems your service uses, with extra training for specialist techniques. |
| How often? | A yearly review of each person’s knowledge, skills and competence, and an earlier one after a medicines incident if needed. |
| What to keep | A record of every competency assessment, with the date it’s due for review. |
What CQC and NICE expect of your training
Under regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, staff must receive the training they need to carry out their duties. For medicines, CQC’s guidance for adult social care sets out what that means:
- Training set out in your medicines policy, relevant to your care setting and the tasks staff carry out, starting with induction training for all staff.
- Competence assessed first. You must not let new staff manage or give medicines until you have assessed their competence, through a formal process.
- A competent assessor: someone competent in the medicines tasks your service delivers, who checks each person’s knowledge, understanding and skills.
- Records with review dates. You must keep a record of every competency assessment and note when it’s due for review.
- Extra training where staff need it for specialist techniques, such as oral syringes or buccal administration, and for any nursing tasks you delegate to care staff, such as subcutaneous injections.
CQC’s guidance cites NICE’s guidelines for care homes (SC1) and for social care in the community (NG67), which recommend a yearly review of each person’s knowledge, skills and competence. The care home guideline also says staff give medicines only once trained and assessed as competent, and that anyone who lacks the skills after the training must not give them. Skills for Care describes formal competency checks as watching a worker carry out key tasks, such as giving medicines, and suggests informal checks too, such as a quiz in a team meeting.
Neither the free pack nor the tailored training replaces that assessment: you assess each person’s competence before they manage or give medicines.
What you’ll get
Run the free pack yourself, or have us tailor it to your organisation and run it for you.
| Free pack | Tailored and run for you, from £399 | |
|---|---|---|
| The content | Complete the general training template | Tailored to your organisation for you |
| How staff complete it | Staff and manager slides with speaker notes, a quiz and a rollout guide, to deliver however suits you | A branded company site with your training content loaded for all staff to complete |
| Getting it to staff | You organise it | Every member of staff emailed for you |
| Reminders and chases | No automation included | Reminders and chases automated for you |
| Certificate of completion | Not included | A dated certificate for every person who completes it |
| Format | PowerPoint slides and Word documents | Audio and video, or a format to upload into your own learning or training hub |
| Managers and employees | A staff session and a manager briefing | Distinct manager and employee training |
| Cost | Free | From £399 per company |
The free pack, file by file
- Staff session. PowerPoint, with speaker notes: supporting people with their medicines safely, and recording what you give.
- Manager briefing. PowerPoint, with speaker notes, for managers and the people who assess competence.
- Quiz and training record. Word: questions with an answer sheet for the presenter, and a training record for everyone to sign.
- Rollout guide. Word: how to tailor, deliver, record, refresh and check the training.
You fill in the gaps for your service, present the sessions, assess each person’s competence and keep your own records. It doesn’t include a certificate of completion.
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The tailored training, part by part
- Tailored to your organisation. We tailor the training content to your organisation, its processes and likely scenarios, with distinct manager and employee training.
- A branded company site, or your own learning hub. Your training content in audio and video, with an understanding check, ready for all your staff to complete; or in a format to upload into your own learning or training hub.
- Distribution taken care of. Invite all your staff, and each person gets an email to complete the training.
- Reminders and chases, automated. We remind anyone who hasn’t finished until they complete it.
- A certificate for every completion. A dated certificate for each person who completes it, to keep with your competency assessment records.
Our team will be in touch with follow-up questions to tailor the content to your organisation.
Request received
Thanks. Our team will be in touch within one working day with follow-up questions to tailor the training to your organisation.
Could not send that request
Something went wrong on our side. Please try again, or use our contact form and our team will be in touch.
What the training covers
Staff session:
- Your medicines policy, and what you can and can't do in your role
- Common types of medicines, and what they're for
- Preparing to give medicines
- The six rights of giving medicines, including the person's right to refuse
- Giving patches, creams, inhalers, eye drops and liquids
- Recording on the medicines administration record
- 'When required' medicines, and when someone refuses
- Mistakes, reactions and when to ask for advice
Manager briefing:
- Your medicines policy, and the training each role needs
- Assessing competence before anyone gives medicines
- Who assesses, and how to observe and record it
- Yearly reviews, and reviews after an error or incident
- Specialist techniques and delegated tasks that need extra training
- Keeping competency records, with review dates
After the training
Assess competence before anyone gives medicines. Watch each person carry out the medicines tasks they’ll do, check what they know, and record the assessment with the date it’s due for review.
Review every year, and after an incident. Review each person’s knowledge, skills and competence once a year, and sooner if a medicines incident shows they need support or more training.
Review training when things change. Look again at who needs more training when someone’s care needs change, when a new medicines task or risk arises, or when your policy or processes change.
Our free safeguarding and Mental Capacity Act training packs work the same way.
Common questions
Is medication training mandatory for care workers?
Yes, for any worker who supports people with their medicines. Regulation 18 requires the training staff need to carry out their duties, and Skills for Care's statutory and mandatory training guide says a worker with responsibilities to support people with medication needs training. CQC expects your medicines policy to include the training needs for your care setting and the tasks staff carry out.
Can care workers give medicines once they've done the training?
Only once you've assessed their competence. CQC says you must not allow new staff to manage or administer medicines before assessing their competence, and NICE's care home guideline says anyone who lacks the skills after completing the training must not give medicines. Neither the free pack nor the tailored training replaces that assessment.
How often should staff refresh medication training?
NICE recommends a yearly review of the knowledge, skills and competencies of every member of staff who supports people's medicines needs, and its care home guideline says a medicines incident may call for an earlier review. Skills for Care adds that if a worker has had no further training within a year, you should review their training needs and competency.
Who should carry out medication competency assessments?
Someone competent in the medicines tasks your service delivers. They assess each person's knowledge, understanding and skills, and you keep a record of every assessment with the date it's due for review. NICE suggests an accredited learning provider if you want staff assessed by an external assessor.
Does the pack cover specialist techniques?
Partly. The staff session covers giving patches, creams, inhalers, eye drops and liquids. CQC counts inhalers and eye drops among the specialist techniques where care staff may need additional training, along with oral syringes, rectal or vaginal preparations and buccal administration. Care staff also need additional training for nursing tasks delegated to them, such as subcutaneous injections, giving medicines through feeding tubes and catheter care.
What's in the free medication training pack?
Four editable files: a staff session (PowerPoint, with speaker notes), a manager briefing (PowerPoint, with speaker notes), a quiz with answers and a training record to sign (Word), and a rollout guide (Word).
What's the difference between the free pack and the tailored training?
The free pack is the template: four editable files you fill in, present and record yourself, with no certificate of completion. We build the tailored training for your organisation and run it for you: a branded company site with your training content, every member of staff invited by email and reminded until they complete it, and a dated certificate for every completion. With either option, you assess each person's competence before they give medicines.
Does this cover care at home as well as care homes?
Yes. CQC's guidance on medicines training and competence is for all adult social care services, and NICE has a guideline for each: SC1 for care homes and NG67 for adults receiving social care in the community.
References
- CQC: Training and competence in medicines optimisation for adult social care staff
- NICE SC1: Managing medicines in care homes, recommendations 1.14 and 1.17
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, regulation 18: staffing
- Skills for Care: Statutory and mandatory training guide (December 2025)
General information, not legal advice. It reflects our understanding of the law and official guidance as of October 2026, so check the sources above for the current position.