How to put medicine in a syringe — Pitjantjatjara

Transcript

[Text on screen] caring@home acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

[Text on screen] WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following video tells the story of a deceased person, as told by the family. The person’s family has given permission for caring@home to share this story.

[Text on screen] Video 3  How to put medicine in a syringe caring@home logo

[Music plays]

>>Kat Hooper (female voice over): Bulka babulka, wanya. Welcome welcome all you mob. My name is Kat Hooper and I am a really proud Worimi woman, a descendant. I currently live, I learn, and I work and I play on the lands of the Turrabul, Jagera, and Gubbi Gubbi people.

[Text on screen] Kat Hooper, Worimi and Gubbi Gubbi descendant

>>Kat Hooper (female voice over):
In this video, I will teach you how to put medicine in a syringe the right way.

The nurse might do this step for you. In that case, you don’t need to watch this video.

[Text on screen] Find a clean space

>>Kat Hooper (female voice over): The first step is to find a clean space. A table or bench is good.

[Text on screen] Get the things you need

>>Kat Hooper (female voice over):
The next step is to get the things you need.

The step-by-step guide – put medicines in the syringe.

Three screw-end syringes.

One for the medicine, one for the sodium chloride flush, one for opening the glass bottle of medicine.

Two blue or red caps. Two blunt pink needles.

The plastic or glass bottle of medicine, the plastic bottle of sodium chloride, the yellow sharps container.

The medicine label. Make sure you have the right medicine for the symptom.

The sodium chloride flush label.

A clean container to put the medicine in, and a pen.

[Text on screen] Write on the medicine label

>>Kat Hooper (female voice over):

When you have everything, the next step is to write on the medicine label.

You need to write:

• how much medicine, the nurse will actually let you know how much
• your name or letters
• and the date.

[Text on screen] Get the medicine ready

>>Kat Hooper (female voice over):
You can now get the medicine ready.

• Wash your hands with soap and water or use the pump soap.
• Open the syringe packet. Don’t touch the screw end part.
• Open the blunt pink needle packet. Don’t touch the pink end. Keep the plastic cover on the needle.
• Twist the blunt pink needle onto the syringe until it is tight.
• Put the syringe with its attached needle into the clean container.

[Text on screen] Open the medicine bottle

>>Kat Hooper (female voice over): The next step is to open the plastic or glass medicine bottle.

For a plastic bottle, open it by twisting the lid off.

For a glass bottle, it is a little bit more complicated.

• Open a new syringe.
• Pull it apart and place it on the table.
• Hold the bottle of medicine with one hand.
• Flick the top softly with your finger – this moves the medicine into the bottom of the bottle.
• Put the empty syringe over the top of the glass bottle.
• Put pressure on the empty syringe to snap the top off the glass bottle.
• Carefully put the open glass bottle down on the table.
• And put the glass top and syringe in the yellow sharps container.

[Text on screen] Put the medicine in the syringe

>>Kat Hooper (female voice over): You can now do the next step which is to put the medicine in the syringe.

• Pull the plastic cover off the blunt needle and hold the medicine bottle with one hand.
• With the other hand, put the blunt needle into the bottle.
• Pull back slowly on the plunger end of the syringe to suck up the medicine.
• The nurse will tell you how much medicine you need in the syringe.
• You may not need all the medicine in the bottle. It’s Ok if some is left over.
• Put the bottle in the yellow sharps container.
• Hold the syringe up and flick all the air bubbles up to the top with your finger.
• Softly, push the end of the syringe until some bubbles come out, it might drip a little bit but that’s OK.
• Get the medicine to the level, the line number on the syringe that the nurse has shown you.
• When the medicine is at the right level, twist the blunt needle off and put it into the yellow sharps container.
• Twist the blue or red cap onto the medicine syringe.
• Stick on the right medicine label. Make sure you don’t put the label over the lines and numbers.
• Put this filled syringe in the clean container.

[Text on screen] Put the sodium chloride in a syringe

>>Kat Hooper (female voice over): In the next step you will put the sodium chloride in a syringe.

Repeat the steps that you just did for the medicine to fill a flush syringe with sodium chloride.

The flush is used to make sure your loved one gets all the medicine.

Write on the flush label, your name or letters, and the date.

• Open the plastic sodium chloride bottleby twisting the lid off.
• Put the sodium chloride in the syringe.
• Put the blue or red cap on the syringe.
• Stick the label on the syringe. Make sure you don’t put the label over the lines and numbers.
• Put this filled flush syringe in the clean container with the medicine syringe.

[Text on screen] Clean up

>>Kat Hooper (female voice over):

And as a final step, you can clean up.

Put the rubbish in the bin, clean the table, and wash your hands.

If you don’t give the medicine straight away, put it and the flush syringe in the fridge or the esky to use later.

And if you need to talk, please ring the clinic.

[Text on screen] caring@home logo www.caringathomeproject.com.au

[Music ends]

[Text on screen] Kat Hooper is a nurse practitioner working with the caring@home team and played the role of a family member in this video. caring@home logo

caring@home for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Families is funded by the Australian Government and led by Brisbane South Palliative Care Collaborative. caring@home logo

End of transcript