Administering Inhaler to 5 Year Old Schoolboy

[summerdays]

My daughter is 5, and has an inhaler and a nebuliser. In the event she requires it the school will administer it, and they're very good about it.

Asthma inhalers are not listed on some particular schedule or other, so you do not have to be qualified or certified to administer them in the manner required for some other drugs.

Wrong... you should have Admin of Meds Before you give Meds in school. It's a POM prescription only med, as far as I'm aware.

However i would have thought that most schools have a fairly aware staff given the number of inhalers they will have at any one time on the premises.

In the case of the OP, what did the class teacher say as they are the one who will have to be doing the reminding. Where is the inhaler stored? And what does it say on the care plan for your daughter?

 

[summerdays]

Particularly when it is the wrong legislation...



Nope - you can now purchase OTC. And the DfE (or whatever it's called these days) have issued guidance about having Emergency asthma inhalers for use in schools.

But, as you say, a good school would have an Admin of Medicines policy and would have proper records of who needs what. Even my school had that - and that was *mumble* over 30 *mumble* years ago.

Isn't the OTC only if you can show the need in some form? Can't remember exactly how - luckily I don't have to.

Each school will normally have a policy of whether the child keeps their own inhaler or if kept centrally, whether they store a spare in the office etc. I know my kids friends in secondary are responsible for their own, but in juniors it was more normal for it to be kept centrally at least until near the top of the primary school. It should also be logged when they have taken the medication.

I would start by checking what the care plan says for the child, make sure it is correct then make sure the school is following it.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Not sure if this should be in SCP or not, so @Moderators if I've put it in the wrong place then please move over.

Background, Grandson who is 5 1/2 years old has been issued with an inhaler & my daughter has been told that he needs to have a puff before any exercise. She went to the school October time (we think) & was told there wasn't an issue, they'd remind him before his PE lesson, going out to play etc. Talking to him last night he apparently hasn't used it in the school since Christmas, son in law asked the Head this morning, as he happened to see him & was given short shrift & told to go ask at reception. On asking at reception the response was 'Oh we can't do that, we can't be responsible, he'll have to remember to take it himself'

I'm getting this all from a slightly distraught daughter via messaging so some of the nuances maybe not exact, but is it reasonable to expect a child at 5 1/2 to remember to take his inhaler prior to PE, she is also worried that if they are refusing to remind him, what will they do if he has an asthma attack.

Is there a guideline anywhere, tried to find something on Ofsted website but as you search it seems to search the whole of the .gov.uk site.

If it was me I'd administer the inhaler, and screw any negative comebacks. The greater good and all that.

 

[growingvegetables]

That unfortunately was what started it all off, nobody there after asking the Head Teacher, the receptionist & his class teacher knew what it was or where to find it.

That's shambolic - and inexcusable.

The whole point of policies is clarity, consistency --- and transparence. All such policies should be in the parents' handbook (or equivalent), AND available to view on request (aye, we lost all our handbooks fast). If such an important policy does not exist, one wonders how many other safe-guarding and health-related policies are missing?

I suspect raising the issue with the governors (casually mentioning that you consider your concern about the absence of the policy, or the failure to provide it, may fall within the remit of OFSTED [your concern is a safeguarding issue which "affects the school as a whole", may indicate the school is "not well led and managed", or "as a group, the pupils’ personal development and well-being are being neglected"] may bring some swift action and clarity?

You may not be popular - it will quite spoil the Head's half-term as s/he wades through voluminous DfE guidance on such policies to find and fill the gaps, and update the neglected. Not a good thing to fail an OFSTED on

 

[Profpointy]

[QUOTE 4673523, member: 45"]And if Ofsted came in and discovered that a teacher was administering an inhaler outside of policy, without a risk assessment and without the necessary paperwork in place the school would be stuffed.[/QUOTE]

Better that than a dead kid surely?

 

[summerdays]

Better that than a dead kid surely?

The point being that for the child to benefit from the medication they need to use it properly and in the case of asthma, they should be an adult supervising prepared to dial 999 if necessary and helping the child to remain calm in the meantime.

 

[Profpointy]

[QUOTE 4673573, member: 45"]Of course, but there's a bigger risk with teachers administering drugs off their own bat.[/QUOTE]

Admittedly they'd have a bit of explaining to do if they dished out laudinum to keep 'em quiet, but an asthma attack could be life-threatening so standing by and doing nothing because of "policy" would be grotesque

 

[Profpointy]

[QUOTE 4673590, member: 45"]Responding because there is no alternative is fine if justifiable, but a teacher/school shouldn't be in a position where there is no alternative when they're aware that a child uses an inhaler.[/QUOTE]

No being argumentative but what could be the alternative?

 

[Racing roadkill]

[QUOTE 4673523, member: 45"]And if Ofsted came in and discovered that a teacher was administering an inhaler outside of policy, without a risk assessment and without the necessary paperwork in place the school would be stuffed.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, but the kid would be okay.

 

[Profpointy]

[QUOTE 4673612, member: 45"]Having the right plans in place.

A school should have a Medication policy. Parents should be made aware that they should tell the school if their child requires medication while at school. The school should have a plan for each child who has meds at school.

A school should never be in the position where a teacher has to administer prescribed meds at school in an emergency without a plan.[/QUOTE]

Ok, that makes sense.

 

[summerdays]

Yeah, but the kid would be okay.

Not if the wrong inhaler is given or not actually taken properly so that the medication isn't absorbed properly.

Same with epi pens you need to administer them correctly to make sure it has the required effect.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Now discovered the teachers etc. were not being asked to administer the inhaler, they were simply being asked if they would remind him to take it himself, is that a whole new can of worms?

 

[Profpointy]

[QUOTE 4673612, member: 45"]Having the right plans in place.

A school should have a Medication policy. Parents should be made aware that they should tell the school if their child requires medication while at school. The school should have a plan for each child who has meds at school.

A school should never be in the position where a teacher has to administer prescribed meds at school in an emergency without a plan.[/QUOTE]

Whilst I agree with your point, in this instance the school has refused to do remind the kid to use the inhaler thus making the emergency more likely. Seemingly they've washed their hands of the matter if I've understood correctly

 

[summerdays]

Do you know whether he has had to come in and use his inhaler after not taking before doing PE?

 

[DRM]

Both of my kids had asthma inhalers from an early age, one was a preventer, with a brown cap, that would be used on a morning at home, then they had a preventer, with a blue cap, this was to be used when needed during the day, they also had a spacer, which for young children is a definite must have item, as they find it hard to coordinate their breathing to take the inhaler correctly, it's basically a plastic tube, the inhaler goes on one end, child on the other, you squirt a dose into the inhaler, the child then breathes through the spacer, and takes the full dose, http://www.asthma.ca/adults/treatment/spacers.php, if you don't have one get your GP to issue one, it may make the schools use of the inhaler easier to use for the person who has to administer it to the child.