To want to swab my own child

[Preparefortheflaming]

I’m not sure why my last post was deleted as I have read the rules re posting. Unfortunately I was busy and didn’t see any of the replies!
I would not be breaking the law to refuse my child being swabbed would I?

Surely it’s my right to chose whether my child is administered a throat and nose swab in school?

If your child has had contact with a pos case I would imagine it would mean they would have to isolate at home. Not sure what the repercussions would be if it was just the regular testing. It's a bit selfish to refuse for no good reason tho. The tests aren't that bad, not quite sure what you've done to yourself when you've done it yourself. It's barely noticeable if you follow their instructions. Myself and my teen have been swabbed and it's fine. Don't pass on your fears to your teen. Esp if they're vulnerable. Mass testing in their school has got to be a good thing.

I work in a school. No one is going to be swabbing your child, the plan is for students to do it themselves under supervision
I saw that the guidance had been changed as it originally said an adult would do the swabbing, the bit that has now changed, but what age groups does it cover? Is it only secondary age being tested?

OP catch on. The throat and nasal swab is fine. It takes seconds. It is not ‘extremely uncomfortable’ - stop scaring people. There’s enough of that going about as it is.

Why do you think they're untrained?

The staff coming in to do the tests will be trained.

They'll send a permission slip, just don't sign it. You can refuse medical treatment.

Lateral flow uses a nasal swab so it is a swab test, same size swab stick as the standard nose+throat test - push swab into nostril until it meets resistance, swizzle around 10 times, push swab into other nostril and repeat swizzle, place it in tube of development solution and give it a few squeezes, screw nozzle onto tube and drop liquid onto the testing cassette then wait for the results to appear.

OP, I'm not giving consent for DS to participate. He is autistic and finds medical procedures distressing, particularly invasive ones such as this. The distress it would cause outweighs any risk from not being tested, if he had symptoms then of course I'd have to get him tested but I'm not pinning him down and risking harm to him or myself on a weekly basis for a "what-if". If he was in contact with an infected person then I will also decline the daily testing and will just isolate for the required period instead, his school have already said work will be provided for this.

From reading the parents FB group for DS, the majority of parents are saying they won't be giving consent.

@ilikebooksandplants

OP catch on. The throat and nasal swab is fine. It takes seconds. It is not ‘extremely uncomfortable’ - stop scaring people. There’s enough of that going about as it is.

Perhaps I was too vigorous then. Or maybe I have more sensitivity in those areas. I wanted to make sure I did it right! I’ll have it done at a centre if it happens again. I would never refuse a test if it was needed or anyone of us had symptoms.

@FoxyTheFox

Lateral flow uses a nasal swab so it is a swab test, same size swab stick as the standard nose+throat test - push swab into nostril until it meets resistance, swizzle around 10 times, push swab into other nostril and repeat swizzle, place it in tube of development solution and give it a few squeezes, screw nozzle onto tube and drop liquid onto the testing cassette then wait for the results to appear.

OP, I'm not giving consent for DS to participate. He is autistic and finds medical procedures distressing, particularly invasive ones such as this. The distress it would cause outweighs any risk from not being tested, if he had symptoms then of course I'd have to get him tested but I'm not pinning him down and risking harm to him or myself on a weekly basis for a "what-if". If he was in contact with an infected person then I will also decline the daily testing and will just isolate for the required period instead, his school have already said work will be provided for this.

From reading the parents FB group for DS, the majority of parents are saying they won't be giving consent.

This! Thank you! Perhaps I didn’t convey my concerns well enough but you have just summed it up for me in a nutshell!

Yeah you can refuse, hopefully then the school will ban your child and you will get your wish to keep them at home. Sadly then the only person to suffer will be your child.

Not sure why you've posted a second time.

The tests are optional.

Opt out.

End of story.

@00100001

Not sure why you've posted a second time.

The tests are optional.

Opt out.

End of story.

I posted again because I did not see any of the replies.....did you not read that above?

@Washimal really?? Can you get a false positive if it requires an additional test?

They are also notoriously unreliable so the DofE guidance states that any child/member of staff who tests positive with a lateral flow test in school will have to have a further test (the full nose and throat one) outside of school to confirm that they do indeed have covid

Yep, I would file them in the category 'better than nothing, but not great'.

Schools have already said children won't be excluded for nit having a test, it is also unlawful to exclude a child for something the parents have/have not done and would be discriminatory to exclude them for something directly relating to a disability and/or SEN.

Have you ever heard of the Swiss cheese model? Every infection control measure is like a layer of Swiss cheese and has holes in it, so you add another layer to cover up those holes, and another layer to cover up those ones. You can never fully eliminate the holes, only minimise their number. The layers also mean that people who are unable to carry out any given measure/layer (e.g., due to disability) still have some protection from the layer(s) they are able to participate in.

You are correct. You consent for any drugs, procedures and testing to be done on your child.
You can refuse consent.
You can delay testing to do further research.
You are the parent, you have parental responsibility.
A medical professional would need to deem your decision as putting your child's safety and welfare in jepody/not in their best interest and they would have to involve several other medical professionals.
This is another reason why people are kicking up a stink for having teachers/volunteers doing the swabbing. Medical professionals can be suspended and investigated for their failure to adhere to their code of conduct. But health care assistants, teachers and volunteers do not work under this code.
The only time this can be overridden is in the event of an emergency.

@B1rthis

You are correct. You consent for any drugs, procedures and testing to be done on your child. You can refuse consent. You can delay testing to do further research. You are the parent, you have parental responsibility. A medical professional would need to deem your decision as putting your child's safety and welfare in jepody/not in their best interest and they would have to involve several other medical professionals. This is another reason why people are kicking up a stink for having teachers/volunteers doing the swabbing. Medical professionals can be suspended and investigated for their failure to adhere to their code of conduct. But health care assistants, teachers and volunteers do not work under this code. The only time this can be overridden is in the event of an emergency.

Thank you. Another sensible non judgemental response

@FoxyTheFox

Schools have already said children won't be excluded for nit having a test, it is also unlawful to exclude a child for something the parents have/have not done and would be discriminatory to exclude them for something directly relating to a disability and/or SEN.

Have you ever heard of the Swiss cheese model? Every infection control measure is like a layer of Swiss cheese and has holes in it, so you add another layer to cover up those holes, and another layer to cover up those ones. You can never fully eliminate the holes, only minimise their number. The layers also mean that people who are unable to carry out any given measure/layer (e.g., due to disability) still have some protection from the layer(s) they are able to participate in.

Yes I’ve heard of the Swiss cheese model. It makes sense. If all the kids who are able to be tested are, then my child who is SEN can be spared the ordeal. And he would only get it from school as we stay home. We don’t shop or socialise either in or outdoors. Everything is washed down when it enters the house. We are no risk to others but others are a huge risk to us

THANK YOU to everyone for your responses. Especially so if yours were sensible and not just attacking although I generally ignore those who are just here to be rude.

I am now ok for MNHQ to take this down if they see fit because this time I’ve had the info I needed!

Oh god this is idiotic. I've had the tests, I know lots of young kids who had the test (since there was a positive case in nursery and at the same time a bug going round loads of kids needed to be tested) it's absolutely fine. If you're clinically vulnerable you'll find it's much more unpleasant for you and your child if you catch covid and become seriously unwell.

The virus is rubbish and lots of us have to make sacrifices, having a mildly unpleasant test is the very least of them.

If your child has had contact with a pos case I would imagine it would mean they would have to isolate at home.

Not according to the governments plan. Instead of being sent home, students and staff identified as close contacts of positive cases will be tested in school every day for 7 days. Unless they/their parents refuse permission (as is their legal right, whatever anyone on this thread thinks) in which case they would have to isolate for 10 days as per previous protocol.

@Backbee

They are also notoriously unreliable so the DofE guidance states that any child/member of staff who tests positive with a lateral flow test in school will have to have a further test (the full nose and throat one) outside of school to confirm that they do indeed have covid

Yep, I would file them in the category 'better than nothing, but not great'.

They are worse than nothing because they are so unreliable. Previously children who were contacts would have to all self-isolate. Now 50% of contacts who actually have COVID will all be in school.

I wouldn't refuse for my child to have the test because I don't want them tested - I would refuse because I wouldn't want them involved in a glorified window-dressing excercise that pretends that schools are safe.

@Notthemessiah This is a scary thought

If you're clinically vulnerable you'll find it's much more unpleasant for you and your child if you catch covid and become seriously unwell.

The tests don't protect against catching covid, they're a containment measure not a preventitive one and if a child in school tests positive they have already exposed their class/bubble.

If my child caught covid and was seriously unwell with it then he would be given whatever treatment and supportive measures were needed and any distress would be secondary as the benefit vs risk would be that the treatment is of more benefits than any risk to him.

This is not so with the covid testing in school as the risk of him becoming distressed, having a meltdown in school, or harming himself and/or someone else when his fight or flight kicks in fair outweighs any benefit of the test.

Not sure why posters are insisting it isn’t a swab. All info to schools confirms nose and throat swabbing.