To think this situation with the school medical room is ridiculous?

[QueenofQuirkiness]

Hi, my DD2 is 12 and she has to take medication numerous times per day. Her medication is kept in a locked cupboard in the school medical room - this I have no problem with as the school nurse has always been very good at making sure DD took it.
However, what I do think is a problem is that DD has told me that she has had to wait outside the medical room on multiple occasions, because the room is too full....
She explained this by saying that lots of people just go to the medical room because they are bored and know that the nurse is a bit of a soft touch and will let them stay there. They sleep on the beds or sit on the chairs and according to DD sometimes the office is too crowded to get in! Of course, some of these children could be genuinely unwell, but DD says that people always go just to skip lessons and they will boast about doing so or mention to people that 'I don't really want to do (lesson), so I will go to the nurse'
AIBU to think this is a bad situation and would it be reasonable for me to phone in to complain as DD has to have medication on a regular schedule and sometimes is unable to get to it at the proper time.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Yes fast I expect they would
after all when alot of stuff you would need to take can be bought OTC as opposed to wasting a prescription. pain killers anti histamines etc, it must be an incredibly time consuming job to medicate hundreds of people when really it takes ten seconds if it's in their bag.

it's bad enough In primary where they have to go to the office fir their inhalers (should asthmatics be that far from one? probably not)

but secondary school are much bigger. and hours of lesson time must be wasted dealing with it all especially if they are having to wait for actual "patients" to he dealt with.

at some.point we have to be able to trust them.dont we? could just as easily find a pull on the floor in tesco or that your mum dropped at home.

[RumBabaPudding]

Your daughter obviously has a window of time to take her medication. She is not a priority until the end of this window and you say it is a little flexible, therefore she has to wait for other kids to be seen. Yes, this may eat into her 'valuable' social time, but unfortunately this is a consequence of her condition and not something the school needs to factor in, nor a reason why my DC should be less of a priority than yours.

Do not give your daughter her medication this is extremely irresponsible and dangerous. Kids are 'children' until they are 18.

FWIW, we have a new Matron who is much stricter - visits and time wasters have reduced, and I do think you need to communicate with the school and have some procedure in place so your DD know what is happening.

[DinoSnores]

"but unfortunately this is a consequence of her condition and not something the school needs to factor in"

Goodness me, RumBaba, you've not heard of making reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities then?!

"Do not give your daughter her medication this is extremely irresponsible and dangerous. Kids are 'children' until they are 18."

Lots of children appropriately carry around their own medication. For example, children with asthma who should have their inhalers readily accessible.

Also some "children" are allowed to get married, have babies, join the army, drive. leave home etc.

[Maudofallhopefulness]

This is ridiculous. How long does it take to give a tablet and a glass of water. Complain! The nurse should be able to know when your dd will be there, regular as clockwork, hear her knock and have the stuff ready. Can't think what a school nurse would be doing regularly that couldn't be interrupted briefly. Malingerers can be left for two minutes. I doubt there'd be much emergency wound dressing that couldn't be interrupted.

At my old school nobody went to the nurse unless they needed an emergency tampon or had a nosebleed. I was allowed to sit there when my dad died but never bothered.

[QueenofQuirkiness]

I have phoned the school and I am meeting with the nurse on Monday to discuss the situation because it is ridiculous, yes there are going to be other children who need medical attention but she requires medication on time daily and can easily administer it herself, the only thing delaying her is the amount of children cramming the office.
I personally think it would be much better if she could either carry them with her or have some sort of more effective method of getting them on time.
I did question DD about possibly exaggerating, but she has sworn to me she is being honest and that many of the children use the nurse's good nature (she is rather...gullible) to relax in the sick bay when there are people who need to be there but are being made to wait...
Dd has told me that there are other students complaining about the same issue she is having so at least I know she is being totally truthful about the issue re. Waiting

[lillybloom]

what was the outcome queen?

[WiseUpJanetWeiss]

This may be useful OP. www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/484418/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf