School refusing to give antibiotics

[Slayerofmyth]

My daughter has warts on her arm that have become infected. She has been prescribed antibiotics four times a day in liquid form that have to be kept in fridge. She has one dose upon wakening but needs 2 more doses throughout school day. I work so can't get to school to give it, theres no one else. School are refusing to give it, I've said I'll keep her off then so I can administer ( taking time off work,), they say I'll get a fine for absence. What the heck am I supposed to do? Please advise.

For all those on the thread who work for schools, the issue is that the school have threatened to report for poor attendance if the parent keeps the child off school due to illness. Schools can't have it both ways. If they want their attendance data to be excellent they have to facilitate medication for dc who are well enough to go to school.

My experience of primary schools was that there was zero cognizance of the pressures of working parents in the private sector with a commute. This manifested itself in:

Requests for concert costumes with 48 hours notice.
Requests and expectations that parents were free to read, help, go on school trips, etc.
The church services/school events held at 10.30am.
My DC's primary refused to call a mobile because it was more expensive than calling a landline - admittedly in about 2003! Then complained I didn't collect sick ds until home time!

Many, many schools would say no in the initial phone call. Because they are balancing the welfare needs of lots of children, not one.

They would be acting in breach of government guidelines, then. Not really a good look for a school that is supposed to set an example to its pupils.

[quote Solidaritea]@restlessinthenorth

Well I wholeheartedly disagree. The school have offered a solution - someone can come in to administer it for the child. The solution is rubbish for the OP, totally. It would be better if the school could develop a system and change the policy. They will have decided it, rightly or wrongly, based on a number of factors.

But it doesn't mean that the school are neglecting the welfare of their students, and that is a serious accusation to make.[/quote]
I think it does mean that, when they know that their "solution" is one that it impossible for OP to access without literally risking the roof over the family's heads. Realistically how difficult would it be to sort this out for a couple of weeks?

22:45noblegiraffe

"Either the school nurse can administer the antibiotics or you can send the nanny in to give them to her.

Simple."

Best answer yet......some of you on here have NO idea.....😏

Obviously the school policy is ridiculous. They should just give it to her. If she is 10 presumably she can self administer the antibiotics so you could send them in in a cold bag with an ice pack.

If it were me, if the doses needed to be evenly spaced, I would do one at 7.30am, one at 6pm, one just before you go to bed at, say 10Pm and I’d set an alarm in the night and give another. A right old faff but better than taking time off work for it.

That was the joke, Slayer. The people going on about school nurses are the ones with no idea about the reality of schools.

Talking about school nurses is about as out of touch as talking about nannies.

It’s such a shame the OP didn’t immediately think, when handed the prescription by the GP and being told it had to be given four times a day - wait a minute, how will that work when she’s in school? If she’d asked at the time of the appointment, she could at least have said to the school that she’d already asked the GP and had been told there was no other way to give the medication. That would have shown she has realised there could be a problem and she has tried to find a solution.

Suggesting to the school that if they don’t administer the medication (as they are not obliged to do) the child will be placed in the care of her grandmother with dementia for ten days and implying that’s the fault of the school, weakens your argument that the school are the unreasonable ones.

I've yet to work in a school that will administer antibiotics. Long term medication is stored in the head's office and DCs go there for lunchtime inhalers etc.

Adverse reaction to antibiotics is not uncommon, hence heads I worked with decided it wasn't worth the risk and had to be the responsibility of the parents.

If she’d asked at the time of the appointment, she could at least have said to the school that she’d already asked the GP and had been told there was no other way to give the medication.

Yes because on the spur of the moment when worried about a child's illness and being rushed out the door for the next patient you have so much time to engage in long discussions over the medication. Its a miracle to get a face to face appt at the momentt.

Not to mention that at some GPs send the prescriptions straight through to the pharmacist so you don't actually see them until you pick them up.

@CouldBeOuting

..oh and there's no sanitary bins in the girls toilets and my DD is on the verge of starting her periods.

In our school the girls who need those facilities use the staff toilets (this itself means that a staff member has to check they are empty and then prevent any adults from going in while the child is in there).

We can’t have sanitary bins in the children’s toilets for various reasons, not least of which is the cost of the disposal service.

That's ridiculous. They had them in y5 and y6 loos at my school in the early 00s. Periods happen and girls shouldn't have to traipse to the teacher loos and admit they're on their period to be able to change their products.

It's their right to have discreet appropriate waste disposal. Not to mortify the max

That's ridiculous. They had them in y5 and y6 loos at my school in the early 00s. Periods happen and girls shouldn't have to traipse to the teacher loos and admit they're on their period to be able to change their products

TBH not allowing children to take prescribed medicines, lack of sanitary facilities for girls, lack of private/separate changing for the older girls - none of these would have been acceptable at my kids' primaries. Its not coming across as particularly supportive to the children.

@C8H10N4O2

If she’d asked at the time of the appointment, she could at least have said to the school that she’d already asked the GP and had been told there was no other way to give the medication.

Yes because on the spur of the moment when worried about a child's illness and being rushed out the door for the next patient you have so much time to engage in long discussions over the medication. Its a miracle to get a face to face appt at the momentt.

Not to mention that at some GPs send the prescriptions straight through to the pharmacist so you don't actually see them until you pick them up.

Sure, some people wouldn’t think about that.

And true, though she didn’t say so, it may have been difficult for the OP to get a GP appointment.

Bit even if that was the case, not everyone would still be feeling stressed in the actual appointment, when they would need to be listening to what the GP was telling them.

And the OP didn’t say the prescription was sent direct to the pharmacy with no discussion about the medication at all with the GP, but yes, it’s possible that happened too.

This sounds like a particularly bad primary school. I would 100% be asking for sanitary bins, a “red box” and my daughter would not be changing with boys.
As for the medication, the school should be able to, it’s perfectly possible. I was a TA and had to administer insulin drugs to certain students, as well as antibiotics and so on, so it’s feasible.
The only other possible option I can see is if you have a friend who lives close by and could give them to her. Obviously her Nan is out the question, as she’s unwell, so maybe a friends’ mum could do it for you? I know I would if I were asked.

The school certainly does not come across as supportive. Of course the school should be willing and able to administer one dose. The school should not agree to administer two doses four hours apart as that is contrary to the prescription, which expects doses to be approximately six-hourly, and it is not for non-medically trained school staff to ignore the wording of the actual prescription on the say-so of parents.

Is this a very small primary school? No sanitary bins in the girls’ toilets implies the school must be pretty tiny?!

My school would and have done this. It's really common for kids to need to finish a course of antibiotics at school. My eldest has had tonsillitis a few times and once the antibiotics kick in feels better but still needs to finish the course.

We fill in a form and kids get if from the school office at the designated time. If they don't have a way to keep it refrigerated offer to send in a cool bag with ice packs.

The two state schools which I taught in would not administer antibiotics to pupils as there would be too many repercussions if there was an allergic reaction or the wrong dose had been given. I know that some secondary aged pupils brought in antibiotics in tablet form and dosed themselves but, strictly speaking, they weren’t allowed to. I do think large schools should have a full- time nurse on site.
Given the OP predicament she should check with the pharmacist to see if just two larger doses could be taken. I haven’t scrolled through the full thread, so I don’t know if she has done this yet.

@Walkaround

The school certainly does not come across as supportive. Of course the school should be willing and able to administer one dose. The school should not agree to administer two doses four hours apart as that is contrary to the prescription, which expects doses to be approximately six-hourly, and it is not for non-medically trained school staff to ignore the wording of the actual prescription on the say-so of parents.

Is this a very small primary school? No sanitary bins in the girls’ toilets implies the school must be pretty tiny?!

This is the thing. Many schools, for no real reason as plenty manage it just fine, refuse to help with antibiotics. Fine. Refusing to work with the parent to find a solution beyond stating that the OP would be fined if the child was kept off is incredibly poor.

Your daughter is likely to be deemed vulnerable (horrible term, I’m sorry but that’s what’s used in education) because of her father being in prison. The school is likely to have something in its attendance, curriculum, equalities or safeguarding policy about the attendance/educational outcomes of vulnerable children and if they refuse to administer prescribed medication, leading to the absence of a vulnerable child, they are likely to be in contravention of one or more of these policies.

Most schools’ medicines policies allow for administering prescribed medication (mine certainly did) but if it doesn’t it might be worth looking at the policies described above. Schools must comply with their policies and if the HT can’t or won’t resolve the issue then you can complain to the governors or academy trust.

@AbsolutelyPatsy

ask the gp to change it to 3 times a day. school told me they couldnt give antibiotics. give her at breakfast, tea and bed

This!

Schools take on the care of the child in the absence of the parent.

This includes feeding them, educating them, disciplining them and ensuring their welfare. Giving medication that has been prescribed by a doctor falls within that umbrella.

It’s not like you’ve asked them to give a herbal sugar water mix for a headache. Absolutely out of order on the school’s part - what do they suggest?

Get back in touch with the GP. They can give different antibiotics that are easier to administer.

You can tell them the predicament you are in. That school won't administer it and they won't authorise her being off sick to take medication. They won't want the medication compromised as not to take it as prescribed can cause resistance.

There are twice daily alternatives, that cover for longer. They are just a bit more expensive for the NHS that's all.

My son had a health condition when he was little and I had to go to the school everyday to give him medication.
Someone else will have to go for you.

Surely the school should be working with op here, they don’t want to administer and op Cant and she has no one who can but she’s not allowed to keep her daughter off to give it? That’s not her fault and it’s clearly in her daughters best interests to take her medication and clear her infection so she doesn’t go on to need further courses of medicine.

I understand there are issues with storage and administration and possible reactions but her daughter had been on these for a good few days already so a reaction now is unlikely. The school decided that they would act for themselves so making sure a parent couldn’t give her child medication and they would FINE her if the child stayed at home to take the meds. The school need to decide what is more important the health or education of this child and sounds like they are really lacking in any common sense. It wouldn’t be hard to support op to get these meds into her child, whether that be having someone give her them in school or allowing her to keep her daughter at home to do so without threats of fines hanging over her, I can imagine given her circumstances re other parent in jail and no available family to help that things aren’t easy day to day.
The op can ask gp for another medicine but these have been prescribed for a reason, because this is the medicine which will treat the infection her daughter has, they don’t just pick a random antibiotic and hope that treats someone. There may be some wiggle room with this, bigger dose less often etc but I think school need to try to help in one way or the other, this is after all, about the best interests of this child not how difficult it is for other people to facilitate. Someone needs to help/support this family to get the best outcome.

It could be your school nurse can help op, in Scotland they don’t work in schools I don’t know if that’s the case in your area but if you can find out who is responsible for your child’s school you could ask for advice?..horrible situation to find yourself in I really hope that there is a good outcome to this which ensures your daughter gets her meds. Our admin does meds/insulin and is generally in the office but it’s a wee school.

08:38Warmduscher

"It’s such a shame the OP didn’t immediately think, when handed the prescription by the GP and being told it had to be given four times a day - wait a minute, how will that work when she’s in school? If she’d asked at the time of the appointment, she could at least have said to the school that she’d already asked the GP and had been told there was no other way to give the medication. That would have shown she has realised there could be a problem and she has tried to find a solution.

Suggesting to the school that if they don’t administer the medication (as they are not obliged to do) the child will be placed in the care of her grandmother with dementia for ten days and implying that’s the fault of the school, weakens your argument that the school are the unreasonable ones."

I didn't for one minute think it would be an issue.... Thanks though, for your totally unnecessary comments. 😁

I'm not in the UK any more and I have to say I'm pretty shocked the school won't give prescribed medication - it definitely wouldn't be an issue here.

In terms of the timing of doses though: I actually was on the antibiotic your DD was prescribed for a nasty infected boil and had to be changed because it caused me to projective vomit. I didn't get on well with the second choice either, but was told I was at risk of needing surgery and to do my best to ensure I took it. I had an amazing pharmacist who gave me advice on other over the counter meds I could take to deal with side effects, but also advised me to set a timer and get up in the night so the doses were perfectly evenly spaced. She said in most cases its ok not to, but when there's a serious infection it can help and is worth doing.

I think its worth talking to the doctor for either support in seeing if there's another option, or if they can write to the school and impress the importance. Its a bloody awful antibiotic so they're not giving it lightly. She needs it, and they need to support her, and I hope you get further with it today.