Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- 24-hour contact
- A telephone number the patient can use at any time of day or night to report a problem with their medicine or injection.
- Blood-borne virus (BBV)
- An infection such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV that can be passed on through blood.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Carer
- A family member, friend or paid worker who helps look after a person, here someone who may give or help with the injection.
- Cold chain
- Keeping vaccines and certain medicines within a safe temperature range from delivery to use.
- Contemporaneously
- Written down at the time the event happens or immediately afterwards, so the record is accurate and timely.
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
- The law for safely managing chemicals and other hazardous substances at work.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The United Kingdom law, alongside the UK GDPR, governing how personal information must be handled.
- Environmental Protection Act 1990
- The law setting out duties for the safe handling and disposal of waste, including clinical and hazardous waste.
- Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist
- A type of injectable medicine that mimics a natural gut hormone to reduce appetite, used here for weight management.
- Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP)
- A natural gut hormone; some weight-management medicines act on both the GLP-1 and GIP receptors.
- Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013
- The law setting out how needles and other sharp instruments must be handled and disposed of safely in healthcare.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting the fundamental standards that providers of regulated care must meet, enforced by the Care Quality Commission.
- Informed consent
- Agreement to treatment given freely after the risks, benefits and alternatives have been clearly explained.
- Instructions for use (IFU)
- The step-by-step manufacturer's guide supplied with an injection pen, explaining exactly how that device is prepared and used.
- Lipohypertrophy
- A thickened, rubbery lump in the fatty tissue caused by repeatedly injecting the same spot, which can make the medicine absorb unpredictably.
- Liraglutide
- A GLP-1 medicine, given by daily injection, used for weight management.
- Missed dose
- A scheduled dose of medicine that was not taken at the planned time.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Needlestick injury
- An accidental cut or puncture from a needle or other sharp, which carries a risk of infection.
- Non-medical prescriber
- A nurse, pharmacist or other qualified professional, who is not a doctor, but is legally authorised to prescribe medicines.
- Nominated Individual
- The senior person responsible to the regulator for supervising how a service is provided.
- Priming
- Expelling a small test dose from an injection pen, where the device requires it, to remove air and check the pen is working before injecting.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Risk assessment
- A structured check identifying what could cause harm and what is being done to prevent it.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Semaglutide
- A GLP-1 medicine, given by weekly injection, used for weight management.
- Sharps
- Needles, blades and other items that can cut or puncture the skin.
- Sharps bin
- A rigid, puncture-resistant container that meets the relevant standard, used to dispose of needles and used pens safely.
- Single assessment framework
- The structure the regulator uses to judge a service, built around quality statements and five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).
- Single-patient use
- A device or medicine that is only ever used by one named person and never shared with anyone else.
- Site rotation
- Systematically changing the injection site each time, rather than repeatedly using the same spot.
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- A written, step-by-step instruction describing how a particular task or process is to be carried out consistently and safely.
- Subcutaneous (SC) injection
- An injection given into the fatty layer just beneath the skin.
- Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC)
- The regulator-approved document that sets out how a specific medicine should be used, including dose, storage and missed-dose advice.
- Tirzepatide
- An injectable medicine that acts on two gut-hormone receptors (GLP-1 and GIP), used for weight management.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.