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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

262 replies

ThatlittlebellwentBOING · 15/11/2018 23:35

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)

OP posts:
HildaZelda · 15/11/2018 23:54

Who calls an ambulance for a broken arm? Honestly, no wonder the health service is in the state it's in.

Bbcbbcbbc · 15/11/2018 23:54

A suspected broken bone sounds like an ambulance to me. Or do you expect someone to get on a bus to get to a hospital?

We’re talking about a child with a mother twenty minutes away able to drive her straight to the hospital.

If the school had just put this nine year old on a bus, maybe you’d have a point Hmm

redsummershoes · 15/11/2018 23:55

Plus, they have a school nurse, a trained medic

on site? all day, every school day?

BackforGood · 15/11/2018 23:56

I would expect a first aider to make an assessment - probably put it in a sling, but might depend on what it looked like, and the parent (or other emergency contact) to be called.

I am horrified at the people suggesting using an ambulance for a potential broken arm. No wonder the ambulance service is so over stretched. Hmm

Bbcbbcbbc · 15/11/2018 23:56

A suspected broken bone sounds like an ambulance to me. Or do you expect someone to get on a bus to get to a hospital?

And besides, a broken arm is not license for an ambulance in my opinion (providing bone not sticking through skin).

You get a friend/family member/neighbour to drive you to the hospital. Ambulances are not taxis.

(Plus it would take at least 2 hours for an ambulance to reach such a low priority case - travelling there yourself is far quicker)

BackforGood · 15/11/2018 23:57

Plus, they have a school nurse, a trained medic.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

Original poster
ThatlittlebellwentBOING · 15/11/2018 23:57

Ok so it seems people have varying opinions . This is why I checked before I contact school again.
As soon as a sling was put on and pain relief administered at hospital the relief for her was immense.
She was holding the arm up as it was broken straight over and couldn’t let it go for pain.
We couldnt use a seatbelt going in except across the lap as it was too painful and awkward with the tangle of arms.
I wasn’t sure what the deal with calling an ambulance was.
Hospital seen her very quick due to the possibility of losing use of fingers with where the break was.
No open fracture or blood but very swollen and bruised immediately after accident and bent.

OP posts:
LosingLola · 15/11/2018 23:57

An ambulance won't do anything except paracetamol, which a first aider or parent can do. And it will be a low priority call, so the parent will be able to get to hospital faster.

We're going into winter pressures. An isolated arm injury isn't a priority. There's no reason the patient can't walk into a car and then into hospital.

Ammy82 · 15/11/2018 23:58

Plus, they have a school nurse, a trained medic.
A school nurse. Who is there once a year to administer vaccinations, who has probably not had training in emergency medicine Hmm

BitterAndTwistedChoreDodger · 15/11/2018 23:58

My DD broke her collar bone at school. I got a phone call at 2.30, saying that she had fallen over at lunch time, and she had a swelling that wouldn't go down.

By the time I could get to her, it was normal pick up time, so we went to A&E, she was obviously low priority and eventually got seen about six hours after it happened.

I think the school behaved appropriately in response to the injury, I only got annoyed when I found out that her 'falling over' was because she was shoved by another child. But, to be fair she fell over on grass, so I still think it was a genuine accident.

Letsgetreadytorumba · 15/11/2018 23:59

There is no onus on schools to have a trained first aider for pupils - the regulations only apply to staff.

southnownorth · 15/11/2018 23:59

DD fractured her wrist at school. They called straight away and her arm was kept completely still with an ice pack on it.

I then took her too the walk in. An ambulance would have been completely unnecessary.

Original poster
ThatlittlebellwentBOING · 15/11/2018 23:59

No school nurse on site. Have never seen one.
Just the receptionist and a teacher holding the arm and ice. No idea who was the trained first aider.. one was in a flap and the other looked shaken.
Do I just mention the sling then?

OP posts:
Letsgetreadytorumba · 15/11/2018 23:59

A first aider doesn’t give paracetamol.

Ammy82 · 16/11/2018 00:00

I am horrified at the people suggesting using an ambulance for a potential broken arm
What are ambulances for, then? Only chest pains?

sweeneytoddsrazor · 16/11/2018 00:01

A school will have a trained first aider it is required by law. They will probably have more than one. A trained fidst aider is perfectly capable of assesing a broken arm.

Original poster
ThatlittlebellwentBOING · 16/11/2018 00:01

I brought a relative with car. I don’t have a car. Not sure what happens if I can’t get a lift

OP posts:
Mymadworld · 16/11/2018 00:02

I'm received the same paediatric first aid training as teachers and definitely would have put a sling on and very surprised they don't have a fully stocked compliant first aid kit. I would raise that as an issue but not calling an ambulance if you were only 20 minutes away is correct in these circumstances

redsummershoes · 16/11/2018 00:02

yes, mention the sling.
a first aid kit should contain a muslin that can be used as sling. or they could have used another piece of fabric, like a jumper, to make a makeshift sling.

sweeneytoddsrazor · 16/11/2018 00:03

If you haven't got a car you can get a taxi

Letsgetreadytorumba · 16/11/2018 00:03

The trained first aider is for the staff though, not the pupils. Perhaps England is different, the op doesn’t mention where she is, but in Scotland there is no law that there should be a first aider for the pupils.

NerrSnerr · 16/11/2018 00:06

Not sure what happens if I can’t get a lift

You'd do whatever you'd do if she'd broken her arm at home. Taxi I assume?

OwlBeThere · 16/11/2018 00:08

Mention the sling, perhaps they’d just run out after using them on other kids. But that’s worth asking about. Otherwise I really don’t think this is a big deal.
Ammy, ambulances are for medical emergencies. A break where a person can’t be moved for instance. Stopping breathing, severe chest pain.

DishingOutDone · 16/11/2018 00:09

I take it you know that if your child leaves from school in an ambulance, there are H&S implications and the injury has to be formally reported? This is why schools normally prefer to call the parent, play it down and then let the parent decide what to do.

If the break appeared serious then yes they should have done a basic assessment and called an ambulance.

GreenTulips · 16/11/2018 00:09

We’re talking about a child with a mother twenty minutes away able to drive her straight to the hospital

Don't think first aid training mentions the parents mode of transport - or financial means to call a taxi

Maybe they should've walked?