6yr old child given medication without parental consent

[Skippy21]

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:
Send a formal written complaint to the workshop providers with very clear factual information;
What your Dd said to you
What your Ds said to you
That you had not signed a consent form.

Ask to see their policies about accidents, medication and safeguarding.
If you are not convinced that they take it seriously then contact your LA or Ofsted if it is an Ofsted inspected facility.

This definitely should not have happened, and they know that because he has been suspended pending investigation. And will probably be sacked.

It is serious.
But it is not a police matter.

I work on nursery and I'm shocked. He fact that this has happened suggests that safeguarding training and first aid training has not been given to this care worker.

Giving OTC medications isn't anything to do with first aid.

During first aid training you are told not to administer medication without consent.

Have they? I think some posters have said he was trying to help. Haven’t seen anyone post they thought he acted appropriately

Plenty posters criticising op and being pretty nasty to.her as the poor man was only helping her child and she has the temerity to report him.

YABU. This is why we can’t have nice things

What the actual fuck do.you mean?
What nice things?
Random tablets given to small children on the quiet?

It was wrong, but it has been investigated and the person suspended. Action has been taken and hopefully checks put in place to stop this happening again.

What would the Police do?

@dementedpixie why are you referring to ibuprofen as adult medication? 3 month old babies are given ibuprofen and the OP said her child was given a dose appropriate for 7-9 year old, which she noted was appropriate for his weight.

Because the tablets say not to use under age 12

I think police is a step too far. They’ve sacked him. What more do you want?

They’ve sacked him.

Suspension doesnt mean sacking!

First of all ibuprofen comes in children’s tablets for 7+ Years

Second, there is no chemical difference in the ibuprofen for adults and children. It’s the same thing! Only difference is the amount.

The difference is the dosage. I've never ever seen tablets from age 7+ so I imagine that's not what was given. Why are you getting on at me, the man should never have given the tablet in the first place? We dont even know for sure what was given as nothing was recorded

BNF says

ForChild 4–6 years

150 mg 3 times a day, maximum daily dose to be given in 3–4 divided doses; maximum 30 mg/kg per day.

One ibuprofen tablet is 200mg so is over that dosage

Police is way OTT but I agree with complaining to the organisation and I do think it’s entirely appropriate he was suspended. Who the heck would give medication to a child without getting consent from a parent? Or at least checking with another person in the organisation what they should do, child seems in pain or etc?

Any probperly won't be a problem again it will be shut down and you will have to look elsewhere to dump the kids

WTF. you may disagree with the OP, but what's with the nasty vicious comment about "dumping" the kids? I find this is often a term used by women that don't work and have no fucking idea about dealing with childcare.

Big mistake on the part of the holiday workshop. A serious error that's being dealt with appropriately.

Taking it to the police would be batshit insane though. Jeeeze.

Obviously it isn’t a police matter, that’s ridiculous. He acted outside of appropriate policies and has been suspended. Seems like the whole thing is under control no?

Medication dosage is done in relation to weight not age, so if the dose was appropriate for his weight then it’s fine. There is no difference between adult and child ibuprofen, there is only one type of ibuprofen. Ages are put on the box of child medications because people can’t be trusted to properly calculate what their child should be given so they err on the side of caution and give age ranges. This hysteria is a pretty good illustration of why this is the case.

There is no hysteria just normal reaction to someone unauthorised dishing out tablets to kids on.the quiet and not reporting injuries to management nor parents.
How did he know how much the boy weighed?
Where did the tablet come from as nobody else knew he had given.him it?

None of that makes up for the probable coincidence that it was the correct dose (as long as the boy hadnt had other meds already.)

Definately not an arrestable offense... But I would want it to be dealt with by provider. And they seem to be doing adequately.

I would probably ask for him to be shown this old news article as many people think procedures are over the top or do things with the best of intentions but are unaware of the (admittedly rare but devastating) consequences.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/toxic-epidermal-necrolysis-boy-takes-1409331

My ibuprofen tablets say not to be taken by children under 12. I would be livid. But think what has happened re suspension etc is appropriate. I don’t think the police would do anything.

I've never ever seen tablets from age 7+ so I imagine that's not what was given.

You've never seen them, so they don't exist?

I have seen them. They do exist. What do you think he was given?

I’m “getting at you” because you’re posting bullshit by calling ibuprofen an adult medicine. Babies are given ibuprofen. If you’re unsure, google. Don’t spout idiotic nonsense like it’s a factS

"Parents should know that there is no difference between medicine designed for adults and medicine designed for children as long as the dose used is appropriate. If you’re able to carefully dose the medicine appropriately, you can use adult ibuprofen tablets for children 3, 6, 8, or 14 years old."

www.texasmedclinic.com/can-you-give-ibuprofen-to-a-child-under-6/

The fact that the ibuprofen is in pill form doesn't make it different in any way from the same drug in liquid form. So the instruction on some packets to say 'not for under 12s' is just precautionary overkill. It's the dose that matters, not the manner of its ingestion.

I imagine he was given a 200mg tablet. The only age 7+ ones I can see online are 100mg and are not sold in any of the supermarkets I have been in. Plus her child is only 6.

Why are you picking up on my comments? I didnt give him the bloody tablet!