What would you expect school to do when child breaks a bone at school?

[ThatlittlebellwentBOING]

Just wondered what you would expect from the school.
My child broke her arm at school yesterday and when I got called I was told it looked broken. I got their as soon as I can which still took me 20 minutes. They were holding her arm for her with an obvious bend in it.
I wondered if it should have been stabilised by a first aider into a sling as leaving school holding it and getting into car was so difficult. They said they would have but had no slings at school? They had given an ice pack.
It seemed such a long time til I could get there and no one could get there sooner. My parents wondered why they didn’t call a paramedic.
I’ve never dealt with these issues before and wondered what would considered a normal procedure to follow.
Thanks

( child has arm in a cast now it was badly broken by a simple fall)

Staff can’t take a child in - their car insurance would be invalid if using for work. They could accompany in ambulance.

That link is for babies and toddlers not school age children. And what I have said is not dangerous nonsense at all as we are not discussing babies.

No, the link is definitely for children - as suggested by the use of the term 'child' all the way through the article..

@moredoll did you actually read your own fucking link? It says to call an ambulance if you suspect the child has broken their neck or spine!! Not an arm.
Or call an ambulance if child in utterly severe pain which I don't think the OPs child was.

I broke my arm at school when I was 8. School out my arm in a sling and called my mum who then took me to the doctors who did an x-ray then wrapped me up in a cast at the local hospital.

Those saying an ambulance should have been called are stupid and ridiculous. What a waste of an ambulance!!

Staff can’t take a child in - their car insurance would be invalid if using for work

Wrong - they get the extension and school pay for it.

Um, hamburgers it doesn't look like you read it either... What it actually says is "If you can't easily move your child without causing pain, call an ambulance."

Where does it say 'utterly severe pain' please?

I would have expected them to call for medical assistance if the break was as you described - ie an obvious bend in the arm where there's not meant to be one. I'd be concerned that nerve function or blood flow could be affected if the broken bones were out of place.

I’m first aid trained and I think the school did exactly the right thing. They made sure that she wasn’t moving her arm which was the main thing. You can immobilise a break with a sling or splint but if you would have to move the arm to do this it isn’t advised. She was in a stable position where circulation wasn’t compromised so moving it may have made matters worse.
You were able to get to the school in 20 mins which was likely to be quicker than an ambulance. If it was going to take you or the other emergency contacts an unreasonably long time to get to the school then an ambulance would have been appropriate. I doubt staff would be insured to drive your child and even if they were 2 staff would have to go for safeguarding reasons.
I’m not sure why some people are so keen to try and crwate something to complain about out of nothing.

hamburgers Thank your lucky stars that your fracture was not that bad. Did you have to have several hours of surgery to deal with the fracture? There is a range of severities, you know.

My child was taken to hospital by ambulance after breaking a bone at school. I wasa long commute away, but I think they had already phoned the ambulance before even knowing that.

DS2 broke his arm at primary school. DH picked him up and took him to the minor injuries unit where they put it in a plaster. Never in a million years would I have expected anyone to have phoned an ambulance.

When he was 16 he dislocated his shoulder and broke it in 3 places at school playing rugby. They did call an ambulance because they weren't sure if it was a neck injury because he did it in a tackle

My son broke is leg in 2 places at school. I'm still convinced the school should have called an ambulance. Instead they tried to make him walk to school office for ice. School called me, and by the time I got there his foot was going blue, son was vomiting and in shock. I had to carry him down hill at 25 weeks pregnant, to health centre where they said to take him to hospital. Quicker to drive him myself but it still makes me shudder the amount of pain he was in on that drive. I think immobilisation, and entonox would have been appropriate but I'm obv not a doctor. He was operated on later that day. Oh, and then I went into labour, had to get transferred to a different hospital, leaving my son alone. He came out a week later. I came out 3 months later!

@ThatlittlebellwentBOING

Maybe I should have emergency cash in my purse for taxis

I don't drive and I do keep separate taxi money in my purse just for this contingency. You just never know when you'll need it.

TheFairyCaravan Minor Injuries are great but wouldn't be able to correct a complicated fracture. I would have thought that if you have a sever fracture where your bone(s) is / are broken in various places rather than a small crack, it will hurt so much more and it will be difficult to move the child safely and without causing further pain.

It's cruel to say that a child who has such a fracture should be put in a car or on a bus for 1 hour to get to their hospital. How would you even buckle them up and expect to sit still that long whilst fing your way to A & E They need to be taken to hospital as soon as possible get strong pain relief en route.

However this will not always be needed as many breaks are simple and don't require surgery.

Why don't people understand that not all fracture are equal?

DD broke her humerus at a sport club. They called an ambulance and then us. She was given gas and air and then morphine before any attempt to move her. There were no protruding bones and no blue fingers just a child who was in a lot of pain. She had 2 lots of surgery and nearly 3 weeks in hospital. It's not always "just" a broken arm.

I’d expect them to ring the parents, and arrange for the child to get to a&e. If the parent couldnt come, or was hours away, then a staff member should take them or ab taxi with a staff member. They dont need an ambulance or a sling.
They did exactly the right thing

My eldest DS was sent home with a broken arm! The teacher mentioned in the homework diary he’d hurt his arm and had taken 30 minutes to calm down. The entire tone was that he’d been a cry-baby.

She felt very bad when he arrived to school in a stookie!

Even in that situation I didn’t complain as it wasn’t clear at first to us it was broken either.

He also broke (and smooshed) his finger and they phoned us immediately for that (but that time there was blood and smushed flesh).

I’d hope they’d keep slings and would ask about that but agree with others that an ambulance wasn’t needed. Surely a teacher would have taken her if you couldn’t get to her? (Haven’t read whole thread so probably already been said)

You don't actually need to put a sling ON to support the arm. If moving the arm would cause more pain or damage, you support it or immobilise it in other ways, eg by fixing a sleeve cuff to the clothing with a safety pin or by using the sling to immobilise the arm by wrapping around the body, holding the arm in the place the person is holding it.

I am horrified that people who are paid to work with children don't have to do the most basic first aid training when every voluntary youth organisation has insisted on every volunteer being qualified in order to be covered by insurance. I wonder how many children have died or been more severely injured given the appalling lack of knowledge shown by schools in the posts above?

GenerationBlueMascara
Not all breaks are equal though.

Child clearly in huge amounts of pain, struggling to reply in conversation and very distressed - probably the sort of moment you'd call 111 say blah blah blah we think ambulance what do you think/call 999 straight away depending on other medical factors. Or, it might be that 2 members of staff could drive the child to A&E if you've got enough staff with business insurance (most schools have a policy on transporting children in your own vehicle).

Child in pain but able to sit in the first aid room with a friend, talk to friend, talk to staff etc then it's not a medical emergency so an ambulance would be ridiculous.

Someone once said to me the problem with common sense is that it's not common. This thread somewhat proves that. I can't believe people are genuinely arguing that ambulances should be called if someone's in pain and might have a fracture.

I am not medically trained. If I don't know what to do, I would call 999 so I can speak to someone who does know what to do. That is what I pay my taxes for.

No, it really, really isn't @Ammy82.
Can I refer you, once again to the link I posted for you just after midnight on Thurs / Fri am. People should call an ambulance for a medical emergency. For medical advice you call 111. However, in a school, a first aider shouldn't need to do that. They assessed the injury and used their knowledge / experience to make the correct decision, to call the parent to take them to the hospital.

to the poster who asked what if the parent couldn't get there for hours, then the school would know that when they contacted the parent. The parent then lets them know option b - maybe call the 2nd parent, or the 3rd contact on the form ?

It seems odd the school didn't have a sling. It seems odd that, on discovering the sling was missing, the first aider wans't able to improvise for example in one of the ways toomanypaws suggests. However, it is normal policy to call the parent to collect the child for suspected broken arm.

I am shocked they didn’t call an ambulance, or at least sought advice from NHS 111 - their algorithm advises to call ambulance. There are risks from broken bones aside from the fracture, such as disruption to blood vessels, ligaments and nerves which can be dangerous to the limb. In addition it is cruel not to give pain relief and stabilise the broken arm to prevent further possible injury/ damage.

I think this thread just highlights the importance of applying common sense.

Some breaks clearly require an ambulance, some clearly don't. There are many shades of grey in between. Unless you are on the ground, making the call, criticising probably isn't helpful.

I think people really need training on when to call an ambulance, it should be taught as part of first aid at school. (I used to work in the control room years ago)

This would trigger a response. But low category and I’ve seen people wait hours with far worse injuries. If you were there in 20 minutes then this is far quicker, and you got her appropriate help quicker than you would likely have otherwise.

I did once have to have an ambulance called for a break - I was at an airport and broke four bones in one foot and severely sprained both of my ankles at the same time so couldn’t even hop and there was no one who could carry me.. you just need to apply logic to these things!

I'm a school based first aider. I would not have called an ambulance for this unless the arm was badly misshapen or the bone had broken the skin or the parent couldn't get to the child in a reasonable amount of time. The school should have slings and should have immobilised the arm if possible.

@moredoll did you actually read your own fucking link? It says to call an ambulance if you suspect the child has broken their neck or spine!! Not an arm.
Or call an ambulance if child in utterly severe pain which I don't think the OPs child was.

Yes, I read my own fucking link. What a pity you didn't.
Also a shame you forgot the good manners your parents struggled so hard to instil in you.

For the removal of doubt here is the link from the NHS website giving advice on broken bones in children.in full;

Broken bones in children

If you think your child's neck or spine may be injured, call an ambulance. Don't move them. Unnecessary movement could cause paralysis.

A bone in your child's leg or arm may be broken if they have pain and swelling, and the limb seems to be lying at a strange angle.

If you can't easily move your child without causing pain, call an ambulance.

If you have to move your child, be very gentle. Put 1 hand above the injury and the other below it to steady and support it (use blankets or clothing if necessary). Comfort your child and take them to hospital.

If you think your child is in pain, give them painkillers, even if you're going to A&E. Follow the dosage instructions on the label

The ambulance operator will question you so if your child has a pain free break (unlikely) they might possibly advise you to bring the child in if you can if they are busy. Maybe.

The role of a trained first aider is to assess whether or not medical advice/treatment should be obtained.

I cannot stand people who think children should suffer unnecessarily. Don't understand them and don't want to.