Medication policy for domiciliary care: what it must cover
By Cura Compliance UK · Updated 10 October 2026
A domiciliary care medication policy sets out how carers support people with medicines in the person's own home, safely and within the law. It has to define the levels of support carers give, how administration is recorded, and how errors are handled. CQC expects it to align with NICE guideline NG67 on managing medicines for adults in the community.
Why home care medication is different
In a care home, medicines are stored and given on site under one roof. In domiciliary care the medicines belong to the person, are kept in their home, and a lone carer supports them during a timed visit. The policy has to reflect that. It cannot simply borrow a care-home procedure, because the carer is a guest supporting a person who, wherever possible, remains in control of their own medicines.
Levels of support carers give
NG67 describes medicines support as a spectrum, and the policy should name where each carer sits for each person:
- Prompting: reminding a person to take their own medicines
- Assisting: helping physically, for example opening a bottle, while the person directs it
- Administering: giving the medicine to the person, recorded on a MAR chart
The level should be agreed in the person's care plan after an assessment, not decided visit by visit.
What the policy has to cover
- Recording on a medication administration record (MAR), including gaps and refusals
- Support with different formulations: tablets, liquids, patches, eye drops, inhalers and creams
- PRN (as required) medicines, with a clear protocol for when and how much
- Covert administration, only with a best-interests decision under the Mental Capacity Act
- Controlled drugs and the extra checks they need
- Self-administration, and how risk is assessed when a person manages their own medicines
- Ordering, collection and disposal, and the limits of the carer's role in the person's home
- Staff competency, training and how it is reassessed
How it is inspected
Medication sits across several quality statements, including safe systems and learning from safety events. Inspectors look for MAR charts completed correctly, competency records for the staff giving medicines, and evidence that errors are reported and acted on. A written policy with no acknowledgement or audit trail behind it is thin evidence, which is where the wider domiciliary care policies checklist and CQC regulations for domiciliary care come in.
Where CuraFlow fits
CuraFlow's domiciliary care library includes a medication policy aligned to NG67 and the quality statements, personalised to your agency, with acknowledgement tracking and a medication audit. Browse the domiciliary care library or see pricing and free samples.
Frequently asked questions
- What must a domiciliary care medication policy include?
- It should define the levels of medicines support (prompting, assisting, administering), MAR recording, support with different formulations, PRN and covert administration, controlled drugs, self-administration, ordering and disposal, staff competency, and how medication errors are reported and learned from.
- Does a home care medication policy need to follow NICE guidance?
- Yes. CQC expects domiciliary medicines support to align with NICE guideline NG67, which covers managing medicines for adults receiving social care in the community, including assessment, recording and the different levels of support.
- Can carers give medicines covertly in someone's home?
- Only where the person lacks capacity for the decision and a best-interests decision has been made under the Mental Capacity Act, usually with pharmacist and prescriber input. The policy must set out that process; covert administration is never a routine convenience.
Ready-to-use, regulator-aligned policies for your service
Browse the domiciliary care policy library