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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

6yr old child given medication without parental consent

400 replies

Skippy21 · 20/02/2020 08:28

After collecting my two children 11yrs and 6yrs old from a half term holiday workshop they both were happy and excited about their outdoor fun that day despite small injuries- 6yr old had a tumble and hurt his ankle. No real issues there until my 11yr old daughter said the man looking after them gave Jack (6 yr old) ‘a tablet’ 😮😮, as he had hurt his ankle and was in considerable pain crying a lot. I was utterly beside myself with shock that this would happen- Jack was given an Ibuprofen tablet -adult!! Medication- no phone call to me and no authority to administer any form of medication. Jack is ok, and dosage was within his weight range- just. The man has been suspended from his position ( guy in charge had no idea this incident had occurred!!).
Should this be reported to police?

OP posts:
Gingerkittykat · 20/02/2020 11:58

My DD has kidney problems, ibuprofen is totally banned. If someone had given her ibuprofen it could have damaged her and I would be furious. I believe there are other medical conditions where it is not allowed.

It is definitely a safeguarding concern but I don't think it is a police matter.

endofthelinefinally · 20/02/2020 12:01

Nobody, it doesn't matter who they are, can just make up their own first aid and safeguarding policy.
There are good reasons why we have official, legal regulations for these things. Then everybody knows what the rules are.

justcleanyourbloodyteeth · 20/02/2020 12:02

@TheyDoDoThat I also hate the term snowflake, because it's an insult. Calling the police is an overreaction. But giving a child pain medication without authority would be against policy in all childcare settings for good reason. What's "snowflakey" about that?

Mintjulia · 20/02/2020 12:08

My holiday club includes in the small print, they are allowed to give limited non-prescription pain relief or seek professional medical attention if necessary. It’s a pretty normal clause.

Policy may have been breached but I think you are over-reacting too.

dementedpixie · 20/02/2020 12:09

The ibuprofen packets I have say they are not to be given to children under 12 so it was very inappropriate that it was given to a 6 year old. Age appropriate medication should have been given if it was authorised in advance

DontFundHate · 20/02/2020 12:09

it's not about this man "learning his lesson" it's about the childcare provider not informing staff of policies, not following policies or even not having proper policies in place. This is incredibly dangerous

itsgettingweird · 20/02/2020 12:09

The thing is willow that in a non authorised private setting it may not be necessary to sign these forms. The same way we don't sign them when leading kids with neighbour, family, friend etc.

You have a agreement of loci parentis.

I wouldn't accept a teacher doing this because I've signed forms and have made it clear on those forms my ds must have liquid meds because of his oral difficulties. I provide these as an alternative to the tablets available.

I also have provided information re his medication he is on etc.

Purpletigers · 20/02/2020 12:12

Man was wrong
Man lost his job
Child is fine
Let it go !!

dementedpixie · 20/02/2020 12:13

No such thing as adult/ children's versions

I think you'll find that there are adult/child versions. Children's ibuprofen is in liquid form.

Celticrose · 20/02/2020 12:14

For those saying it's ok as no harm done. If it hadn't been ok and child had a severe reaction or choked then police would definitely have become involved.
My dad 3 days into his stay in a nursing home was administered another person's medication by a HCA and not a trained nurse as was the procedure. I was informed by the manager who gave me list of said medication. The social worker told me that he spoke to the deputy manager who was very nonchalant about it as no harm had been done. He told her in no uncertain terms that if harm had been done she would be talking to a police officer across her desk instead. He was not impressed with her at all.

Bikerider2020 · 20/02/2020 12:16

If it had been one paracetamol it would have been an overdose!

But it wasn't!

Call the police.... are you waiting for the typical mumsnet line... log it with 101?

Bikerider2020 · 20/02/2020 12:18

EvaHarknessRose the whole thing feels odd. My son had to be convinced to take it/ coerced. He spat it out twice and my daughter said the guy ‘checked his mouth to make sure he had taken it’ ?!?

Drip drip drip 💧 💧 💧

Celticrose · 20/02/2020 12:20

Also as a child i had great difficulty swallowing tablets. It was mainly the taste and would gag on them. I remember taking orange junior disprin in my teens as unable to swallow adult tablets. Someone making me take a adult tablet at that age would have had me gagging. Looking into his mouth go make sure he had taken it totally totally inappropriate never mind giving him it in the 1st place. I can't imagine an adult being treated like this.

happystory · 20/02/2020 12:24

As an early years professional we are only allowed to give prescribed medication and then only after a medical form has been filled out and the parents signed. How was he supposed to know if your son had any underlying health problems? Serious error of judgment - but not a police matter.

MulticolourMophead · 20/02/2020 12:36

Almost 3 hours since OP first posted and despite being asked many times she has not answered

And perhaps she's unable to use her phone right now, maybe at work?

Booboostwo · 20/02/2020 12:39

For those saying it's ok as no harm done. If it hadn't been ok and child had a severe reaction or choked then police would definitely have become involved.

But the law makes a rather big deal out of consequences which is why if you drive drunk but don't harm anyone you don't get prosecuted for the same thing as when you drive drunk and kill a pedestrian.

Straycatstrut · 20/02/2020 12:42

Sounds very dodgy to me.

My 7yo son has really serious migraines. They're spontaneous, sometimes twice a week, sometimes he can skip a month. They cause vomiting and black outs and he screams with pain, it is awful. They are triggered a lot at school. I had to fight for months - MONTHS, for them to accept my permission to give him his dose of calpol! they are really scared of giving kids medicine. They have to ring me and make sure I haven't given him any in the morning and I have to sign something after. In his case though, the alternative is I have to travel all the way to the school and he has to sit in pain and wait for half an hour - he's vomited with the pain by this point so has to walk all the way home in a horrible state (I don't drive). I don't work at the moment, but when I do this arrangement would never work.

My son in Nursery - apparently they aren't ever allowed to give calpol even if the child has an awful fever. The thought of this really scares me, I won't always be able to get there quickly.

I am shocked this man gave your six year old a tablet. I didn't think tablets were made for primary aged children. There's no way my almost 8 year old would swallow one, he has calpol liquid 6+. I'd log it with them (like you did) and remove him from the club.

coconutpie · 20/02/2020 12:45

I'm shocked that this happened. Definitely report to OFSTED. Did you go back and clarify what exactly he administered and an incident form was filled in? This was a pretty serious fuck up. Very very serious. Plenty of people cannot take ibuprofen as they have allergies or underlying medical conditions where you absolutely cannot take an NSAID medication.

ActualHornist · 20/02/2020 12:45

Yes but the key word is ‘if’.

Nothing went wrong, but the company still got rid of the man. You can’t go back and right a wrong, all you can do is try and stop it happening in the future. Which they have.

Your situation is very different.

Bringringbring · 20/02/2020 12:49

@Mintjulia

My holiday club includes in thsmall print, they are allowed to give limited non-prescription pain relief or seek professional medical attention if necessary. It’s a pretty normal clause.

Yes normal clause to include but one you have to tick a box that either yes or no about. Check the contract and you will see

AnneOfTeenFables · 20/02/2020 12:49

If your DC has a serious allergy then you put that information in the form for the club ffs. 'Jack' obviously doesn't have an allergy to ibuprofen so why are people pretending he could have rather than dealing with the facts. Either the staff member has been suspended because OP didn't authorise any medication or because he didn't inform OP about the medication. There's nothing for the police to do.

lyralalala · 20/02/2020 12:51

Let the organisation do their investigation and then if you feel unhappy with it report to their registration body

If this was the Out of School care I am chair of the investigation would depend on two things...

Is he the registered First Aider and the person who would normally deal with incidents?

If yes then did he check the allergies on the registration form (if there is no paperwork that asks your child's allergies then withdraw them right away as they are clueless) before administering the painkillers and were they within what would be done. Then the question would be why did it not get written up and reported to parents. I've had to shout a parent back last minute on pick up because one child started vomitting just as I went to write up another

However, if he isn't the first aider and didn't have access to the forms and didn't write it up then the organisation has a huge issue with training and he absolutely should lose his job. The person in charge is ultimately responsible for the children and staff (volunteer staff or paid) need to know their roles and not step over lines.

dognamedspot · 20/02/2020 12:52

"Man was wrong
Man lost his job
Child is fine
Let it go !!"

This. Common sense.

Bringringbring · 20/02/2020 12:58

NHS policy re administration of medicine in schools and early years settings

** Medicine (both prescription and non-prescription) must only be administered to a child under 16 where written permission for that particular medicine has been obtained from the child’s parent or carer2,3

  • except in exceptional circumstances where the medicine has been prescribed to the child without the knowledge of the parents.2 Most schools and nurseries will have their own consent forms for medicines administration but if needed, template forms for local adaptation accompany this bulletin. The Department of Education document, ‘Supporting Pupils at School with Medical Conditions’ also includes template forms.**
PurpleDaisies · 20/02/2020 13:02

First aiders should still not be administering medicine without consent.