Medical

Parents are asked to notify the school if their son/daughter has any special medical condition or requirement and give the school the name of their General Practitioner.

We also ask for an emergency contact in addition to the parent in case a child becomes sick in school. The school has a Medical Auxiliary but no one is allowed to administer any medication without the prior written consent of the parent.

Pupils becoming unwell in school:

If a pupil becomes unwell in school he/she should tell a teacher who would notify the school office who will contact the Medical Auxiliary. If a pupil needs to be sent home, the parent or other identified person will always be contacted first. Usually the parent is asked to collect the child from school. In serious cases the school will contact the General Practitioner or the ambulance service. Every effort will be made to simultaneously contact the parent/guardian so that they can accompany the child to the surgery or hospital.

The School Health Service:

Throughout your child’s years at primary and secondary school, a team of specialist Health Service and Education Department Staff will be seeing him or her from time to time to make sure that he/she benefits as much as possible from all that school has to offer, and to help prepare him or her for life after leaving school. The School Health Service is part of the Community Child Health Service and has direct links with those who carry out health checks on children before they start school.

Many different services are provided. The School Health Team takes the issue of maintaining confidentiality seriously at all times. The staff involved make every effort to work closely with parents and with others who are caring for your child, both at school and other branches of the Health Service.

From August 2000 there was a change in the School Nurse Programme for Vision Screening carried out in Secondary Schools. The Lothian University Hospital NHS Trust change affected routine vision screening of all pupils at S3 level. This decision was made by the Vision Link Group at Community Child Health following a Study of S3 vision screening which showed that very few cases of vision defects were picked up on screening and most of those were of a minor nature that did not affect their vision. The School Nurse still offers vision screening at S2 to those pupils where there are concerns about their vision, and those who meet the selection criteria.

Some of the staff concerned and the parts they play are as follows: -

School Nurses are involved with health promotion and education, prevention of ill health, immunization and health surveillance. The attention of the School Doctor is drawn to any possible problems and parents and the family doctor are informed if any further action is considered necessary.

A Health Assistant may help the School Nurse. The School Nurse acts as an important link between home and school. She visits the school regularly and liaises with teachers to find out whether any pupil has a health need that requires to be addressed. The School Nurse can link with other members of the health team, in the community or in hospital, concerned with a child’s health.

The Nurse reviews the notes of all children in Primaries 1 and S2 as well as those of all new entrants to East Lothian. Parents are also asked to complete a health questionnaire about their child at Primary 1, 7 and S2.

The School Doctor is trained in community paediatrics and is part of a team of doctors, including a consultant community paediatrician, for your area. The School Doctor will be pleased to see you and your child at a mutually convenient time if you are concerned about his/her health or general progress at school.

With your consent, the School Nurse also carries out immunisations to protect against various diseases:

Age 12-13 Testing for resistance to tuberculosis and immunisations (BCG) where required.

Age 13-14 Booster immunisation against diptheria, tetanus and polio.

The Audiometric Team, who check children’s hearing, will not visit the school to check pupils hearing. Instead they will provide a local clinic based, appointment only service for all school aged children requiring a hearing assessment. These include:

all children who are due to have a routine re-test as a result of being found to have a hearing
loss at a previous test in school or as a pre-school child.
all school age children newly referred for assessment, either Primary 1 or other years.

The School Medical Officer will inform schools of the result of any assessment.

The Speech and Language Therapist can provide assessment and, if necessary, treatment, if you, a teacher, your GP or the School Doctor feels that your child may have a speech or language problem.

Any enquiries concerning the provision of dental services should be made to the Director of the Community Dental Service, 16 Duncan Street, Edinburgh, EH9 1SR (Telephone: 0131 667 7114).

We hope that the School Health Service can, together with yourselves, contribute to your child’s overall well-being and development. Please do not hesitate to arrange through the Head Teacher to see the school doctor or school nurse if you want any more information.

Administration of Medical Procedures

All members of staff who have agreed to be trained in the administration of specific drugs to pupils suffering from all epileptic seizure or a severe allergic reaction and who are required to apply specific drugs to those pupils will be covered by East Lothian Council’s Public Liability Policy.