In Wales (as I suspect with the rest of the UK) School Nurses are a rare breed and one usually covers several schools. The regular (annual) check-ups given in my school days are a thing of the past however should staff reprot any particular problem to the School Nursing Service then a letter will be sent to the parents. They do carry out sight and hearing tests during the first years at school and again during the first year at Secondary School. We were informed by letter that the Nurse had "detected serious deficiencies" in the THW's eyesight. T asked the child one question and then telephoned the School Nursing Service and spoke to the Doctor in charge. I made only one observation ~ "When giving a child an eye test it would be sensible if the nurse were to ask the child if they normally wear glasses" ~ YES You guessed it. The THW does indeed wear specs in the classroom but removes them when out and about (for obvious reasons of vanity) and when the nurse had not asked if she wore glasses she assumed that they wanted to test her eyes as the optician regularly does.
The same nurse carried out a hearing test on Snoopy Minor and pronounced him deaf. Again we received a letter and took him to our GP who carried out the same test and hooted with laughter when Minor observed that the headphones used by the GP fitted better than those used by the school nurse. The child is not deaf but the headphones used by the nurse slipped off his ears and when he tried to tell her this she told him to be quiet and pay attention to the test so he told her he couldn't hear anything.
Again I contacted the Doctor in charge of the local School Nursing Service who sighed heavily.
Then came the one that really did for me. Minimus is allergic to many things but principally Eggs and Nuts. Eggs or anything made with eggs make him very sick and bring out a hideous rash. Nuts have been known to cause Anaphylaxis. Accordingly he is seen regularly, at the local hospital, by a consultant. This Consultant prescribed medication to be administered immediately on signs of an allergic reaction and "epi-pens" with which to inject the child in the event of Anaphylaxis. The injection has to be administered within minutes or the child could die.
We provided the school with the necessary "crash bag" of medications and the school nurse was sent in to deliver instruction to all the staff on how to administer the injections. (Basically for those who don't know you remove the cap and stab the child in the upper thigh ~ the equipment delivers the measured dose, you then phone for an ambulance using 999 and note the time the injection was given. If there is no improvement in the child's condition you administer a second injection after 5 minutes but usually the paramedics are there to take over by then.)
The School nurse then examined the medications we had collected from the pharmacy and left with the school. She took issue with the dosages prescribed and telephoned our GP to ask about the child's medical history. The GP told her to p*ss off under patient confidentiality rules ~ he then phoned me to tell me.
Again I phoned the School Nursing Service and spoke, this time, to the Nurse herself to ask why she had instructed the school staff that "Under no circumstances were they to administer the dosage of Antihistamine that had been prescribed" She told me that "in her opinion it was too high a dose" ... I pointed out that a Consultant at the local hospital had prescribed exactly the dose that she was questioning. She asked his name and when I gave it said "Well I've never heard of him ~ he cannot be much good". So I called him and relayed the conversation. One week later she was removed from post and offered early retirement, or a position within another part of the NHS and the school were sent a letter by the Consultant telling them exactly what they were to do should the need arise.
And people wonder why I have taken two of the children out of school.
