Medical conditions in schools
Medical conditions in schools
School Nurse
The first port of call for schools should always be the school nurse.
The School Nursing Services provides face-to-face training in the instance of a new diagnosis or for cases that are more complex for asthma, epilepsy, continence, and EpiPen training.
The School Nursing Service is no longer providing yearly updates for EpiPen, asthma, and epilepsy training on a routine basis. They now recommend schools source this training via e-learning, available via recognised specialist leading charities.
Paediatric Outreach Nurse
The Paediatric Outreach Nurse with the Paediatric Outreach Team provides training into mainstream schools for children with complex medical needs.
This would include:
- catheterisation
- enteral feeding (NG tube and gastrostomy)
- oxygen
- and tracheostomy care.
The Specialist Nurses may provide training on other conditions such as cystic fibrosis, diabetes, stoma care.
The children will usually already be known to the community team due to their medical needs, so the school can ring the outreach team on 01296 315142 or email buc-tr.ccnbucks@nhs.net.
Please note consent should be obtained from parents prior to ringing the Outreach Team.
Individual healthcare plans
Individual healthcare plans (IHPs) help schools to effectively support pupils with medical conditions especially where these are long-term and complex.
They provide clarity about what needs to be done, when and by whom. They are of particular importance in cases where conditions fluctuate or where there is a high risk that emergency intervention will be needed.
Plans should be drawn up in partnership between the school, parents, and a relevant healthcare professional such as the:
- school nurse
- dietician
- children’s community nurse or Paediatrician
Pupils should also be involved whenever appropriate. Where the child has a special educational need identified in an EHC plan, the individual healthcare plan should be part of that plan.