Really angry, say something or over reacting?

[aawcmon]

My DD has just started high school and is loving it so far. She has asthma which is well managed, but she always carries her blue inhaler just in case of emergencies. Today, she had a really bad attack for the 1st time in years. I got a phone call from school office saying can you come and collect your daughter, she's feeling a bit breathless. I arrive at school within 20 mins and was shocked to see the state she was in. She was struggling for breath and was crying. She didn't have any adults sitting with her, only her friend from class. Reception staff couldn't have been less interested if they'd tried, I received no background info to what could have triggered the attack. DD had taken her blue inhaler multiple times, but it did not help.... DD was in such a state, I phoned doctor's office who advised me to take her to A&E straight away. We ended up being in hospital most of the day on nebulisers, steroids, x-rays, and she will need on going checks this week as her lung capacity is still not ideal. I am so angry with the school, it was obvious just by looking at her that she was in distress and to leave her by herself, she was panicking and exacerbating the issue. Should I bring this up with school or leave it (DD doesn't want me to do anything as she's scared teachers won't like her as much if I complain)

I am horrified about this and hope your dd is recovering well now.

My dd picked my dgs (4) from school at the end of september (3 weeks) into term and noticed immediately that he was having difficulty breathing. Noone had noticed. 4 members of staff in reception and 3 in the connected nursery and not a bloody one of them noticed an audibly wheezing child. He was also listless and completely different to his normal self.
Dd took him straight to doctors where he was nebulised, prescribed a course of steroids and as he responded to treatment was not sent to hospital but the gp gave us strict instructions to call an ambulance straightaway if his condition changed. The asthma nurse reiterated this (she sat with dgs and me whilst my dd collected his medications) as did the pharmacist.

I did speak to the class teacher when I took dgs to school when he was well enough to return and my dd wrote a very detailed letter but apart from filling in a form to give the school permission to administer the blue inhaler. Nothing further was mentioned. To be fair whilst this was the second time dgs has been given steroids due to breathing difficulties he had not been officially diagnosed as asthmatic and so the school were unaware of the potential problem at the time, but that still doesn't excuse failing to notice an obviously ill child!

I admit that in the past I have tended to downplay asthma, my dd was (mildly) asthmatic but she only had symptons when she had a cough and cold. She had only one severe attack, which led to her diagnosis, and when I asked my gp when I should bring her to gp or take her to hospital (as noone else in my family, at the time, was asthmatic and I had no experience whatsoever of dealing with the condition) I was told that "you will know" which I now know to absolutely shockingly useless advise. The gp who treated dgs made me and dd very aware of the seriousness of the condition and gave us very clear and detailed information as to what to do in the future.

After reading this thread and the links, I will show it to my dd and see if she feels it necessary to have a chat with the class teacher to find out what the schools procedure is with regard to asthma.

I lost my father while he was still young to astma. He couldn't be saved and he had it for 30 years at the time so was in his mid 30s when he passed. Another friend almost died but we managed to save her. She barely made it though as hospital was far away. She was 16 at the time. Feeling for you OP and glad your daughter is recovering, hope you can get through to someone that can deal with this at the school asap.

if the child is back at school then it is urgent that the school learn from their mistakes. If the child is not back at school and there are other children with asthma it is urgent (and Scotland has a high level of asthma).

Unfortunately I dont know enough about the Scottish education system to suggest the next moves. Perhaps go to school and sit in reception until they find someone to discuss it? If there is a school nurse I'd speak to them. Definitely email the school so you have a record - say how many times you have tried to contact them and keep names of anyone you speak to.

No governors - is there a local education authority you can go to? Maybe try your local MP's office.

An update! Got through eventually and the head advised she was 'distressed' to hear of the situation. Both the head and deputy head have launched a full enquiry and will provide me with a status update this evening. They seemed to be taking it seriously, I was calm but stated all areas school were remiss. They agreed, saying their first priority is the safeguarding of children and that in this instance, they want answers....so far, so good. DD meanwhile is looking very pasty and tired, with a few coughs, but I guess that's to be expected.

This might be one of the few circumstances where I would be mentioning the word 'newspaper'.

Cross post. I'm so glad they are taking it seriously, at last.

BathshebaKnickerStickers Tue 28-Nov-17 07:31:04

"I'm a first aider in school. I'm also a TA....I'd be sent back to class to continue my classroom work rather than be sitting with a child..."

Bath, do you mean that you would actually do as you were told and go in such a situation? Even though you knew this might cause the death of a child? That is rather shocking.

Oh that's a really good response.

If they don't keep you up to date on it - ask in a week or so what the findings were and what procedures have been put in place. You don't want heads on plates but people learning and changing behaviour.

Sound promising OP. Well done for remaining calm. It's certainly sounds like you got the point across, and made them listen. Pursuing this could literally save a life. I hope your DD is back on her feet soon.

And sorry to all those posters who have lost sometime to asthma It's scary how quickly someone can deteriorate.

I've had a telling off for not seeking help sooner when I've been ill, and this thread is a humble reminder not to take risks.

That’s good OP- I think you are doing a great job at staying calm and making sure you are heard.

Asthma UK are a great resource and run lots of public information campaigns so it might be worth getting in touch. As other HCPs have said we take asthma very seriously in hospital- it should never be underestimated.

I will definitely be looking at asthma UK and as mentioned earlier, my sincere condolences to everyone affected by this condition. I think it's important to recognise the illness and have all relevant mitigations in place to deal with it. One thing my DD had said though is she doesn't want to be defined by it or treated differently where possible. An old head on young shoulders.

Awe bless her. I can empathise as I remember feeling a little bit like an exhibit at primary school when my asthma was bad, as there were a few times I had to stay inside at playtime when it was cold, and kids were peering in the window and generally just being nosy. Some teachers would peer in too when walking past probably just a fleeting glance to be honest, but I didn't like it.

And nor should she OP but tell her that through this episode if policies at her school are changed her experience will have made such a positive difference and in fact could prove life-saving to another child one day. And that is amazing!

Safeguarding is a term used in the United Kingdom and Ireland to denote measures to protect the health, well-being and human rights of individuals, which allow people — especially children, young people and vulnerable adults — to live free from abuse, harm and neglect Taken from the quality care commission . Which goes on to say,
Safeguarding children and promoting their welfare includes:
Protecting them from maltreatment or things that are bad for their health or development.
Making sure they grow up in circumstances that allow safe and effective care.
The school has a duty to safeguard in the same way as parents do. I am glad they are taking this seriously OP.

Great to hear they are talking to you and taking it seriously.

Now is the time to write an email to the head to minute your discussion and create the start of a paper trail.

Make sure you detail everything your dd experienced, what should have happened, what didn't happen and what the consequences could have been. And what they need to do going forward and what they have said they will do, along with timescales. Plus if you find any good reference info you can provide urls for (e.g. Asthma uk site) put it in as an extra so they can't claim not to know about things down the line.

Hoping they pull their finger out and do sort this!

Never understood this weirs notion that its only a safeguarding matter at home but not at school.

It's because people confuse Safeguarding with Child protection.

And good news OP, I think you handled it really well. Fingers crossed the head comes back with some answers and future solutions.

However this isn't one of the many things mentioned in my ds's school extensive Safeguarding Policy but it is in the Welfare & First Aid Policies.

Great update Aww (love your name btw)
Hope they haul people over the coals for this.

Hope your DD is feeling better soon, tell her that all of us Mumsnetters are behind you both and this needs to be dealt with, she is far too important not to. It can be so sudden its frightnening.

My ds2 only has it when he gets a chest infection, spent first day of a holiday a couple of years ago abandoning our meal at Stirling Castle (before we even got in the castle ) and sitting outside the hospital for 4 hours waiting to see a Dr when his 'cold' went to chest infection with wheezing and him feeling/looking awful within couple of hours. Thankfully being bit of a 'take anything we could possibly need on holiday type' I had inhalers with us 'just in case' so glad I did. It was a bank holiday and oohrs was heaving! Cue more inhalers and steroids and calpol for the hols. Kids eh?

Alexander first aid is part of Health and Safety, which is certainly part of Safeguarding. You can have a separate policy as long as it works and children are not put at risk. Because if they are then it is a safeguarding issue.

I'm pleased that the school seem to be taking this seriously. I wish asthma was taken more seriously.

Yes complain. I am guessing your child is old enough to tell you what happened ... but she should not have been left alone and they should have assessed how serious the situation was.

Very glad School are taking it seriously.

If I were you at the end if each conversation or phone me call i would jot down what was said (as a reminder to myself) and then follow up with a polite email (confirming in writing what has been agreed) at the end when you just feel the correct action has been agreed upon.

So you have it all documented in writing.

Good update. Glad it’s being taken seriously.

I'm glad they're taking it seriously and happy to hear your DD is on the mend.

Can I just say that an inhaler called Symbicort was nothing short of fabulous for my mum, but apparently it's not prescribed very often in the UK as it's pricey. She went from around 40% lung capacity to 85% in about a month and stabilised at around 95% afterwards and she's feeling better at 60 than she did at 40. Not sure it's suitable for younger kids though.

Salbutamol and ventolin just kinda stopped being effective over time for her.