NHS refusing treatment to child who attends private school.

[floralcarpets]

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/boy-denied-treatment-nhs-hospital-private-school-kingston-richmond-b1231805.html

AIBU to think this is disgraceful? The mum is likely paying loads of tax which goes towards the NHS and pays for state schools, yet her child is this treatment which they sound like they desperately need.

“Occupational therapy services are available to all school-age children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) either through the NHS or the local authority. For children without an EHCP, advice may be available through existing NHS services provided in state school.”

There's some nuance to this.

It would be if that's what was happening.

I can tell you that most state educated children will not have access to OT unless it's listed in their EHCP. Hth

The occupational therapists visit state schools, nothing wrong with that, it’s part of the services state schools provide. If you choose a private school then you can’t access the school service because it’s private.

Was there not a thread here last week from a parent stating the same? Tried to find it as it was a good discussion. Perhaps someone else will remember.

It is a commissioned service which is funded through budgets attached to state schools. I am sure the NHS will be happy to provide the same service to private schools when they pay for it. The NHS happily provides services to private sector employers when the commision and pay for them - this is not different. Total non-story.

The headline is misleading. It’s not about the NHS refusing treatment solely because he goes to a private school. It’s a service offered by the local authority for children in their schools. If a child is not in a state school, then they can’t access the service funded by the local authority. You can’t pick and choose which service you want to benefit from.

I don't think it is actually as the headline states
I think the provision is in a State school and as the child does not attend he can't go.
I was chucked out of my Saturday Morning dance class when I hit 11 and went to a Private Secondary. No idea why as it wasn't held at a school.
I had been going for 4 years. still stings many years later

I cannot imagine anyone reading that article and believing it to be an accurate account of what happened.

I love the irony of the mother claiming there's a "two tier system" given that's exactly what private v state education is. If you take a child out of state education there are pluses and minuses, you can't cherry pick the best of both worlds. If you want state school healthcare you have to accept the lower standard of education that state schools provide.

Of course it’s not a non-story! This sort of thing really enrages me. I send one of my kids to private school as the state schools were totally unable to prevent this child getting beaten up by a classmate. They had to call me while I was at work on more than one occasion to pick my child up from school as the violent child had had a bad day and the school were concerned about the beating my child was likely to get on the way home. They fully suggested if we have the funds we send our child to private school as they could not discipline this child or permanently exclude them. So we did. We didn’t really want to but we had no choice as we were sick trying to get the local authority to see sense. We are far from the only parents in our child’s state school to be privately educating for these reasons. Children are getting seriously harmed up and down the land in classrooms.

For taking our child out of state schools we have to pay VAT, and now for our child’s healthcare? This is insane. The financial cost for us of having a child who is the victim of a bully is vast.

This. It’s just an excuse to complain about VAT on private schools.
The school needs to pay to commission OT services if that’s what’s needed. The OTs can’t go into a school that’s they aren’t commissioned to because they aren’t paid for that.

This.

State schools need to be able to provide basic safeguarding before financially penalising those forced to opt out. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.

Complete nonsense as others have said.

She could take him out of his prep school, wait long time that it takes to get a ECHP, then get it for free. That’s the process for everyone.

@Findra
That sounds like an awful experience and my DC were/are at Private schools BUT if you read the article carefully you will see that (unlike VAT) this is not actually another attack of Parents like us.
Its a non event and designed for maximum frothing

If my child needed SALT how would they access it without me paying though?

Bet this pre dates the Labour government. I worked in school nursing under the Conservative government, the school nurses didn’t take referrals from the private schools either because they aren’t commissioned to do so.

Does this make it right?

You don’t have to pay for your child’s healthcare. But there are NHS services that are commissioned by the local education authority. This will cover state schools. If private schools wish to access the service too then they themselves will have to commission it.

it’s a similar situation for older people and OT equipment in some areas. If they are in their own home, equipment is provided through NHS / social services. If they are in residential care, the home has to fund it.

This is total spin to suit an agenda. I doubt most Daily Fail readers will get past the sensationalist headline, they usually don't.

Absolute rubbish! I work in private and we have NHS OT’s come to visit kids on a regular basis.

Surely the school should provide it if it relates to OT within that school environment?

The state schools get it through a scheme funded by the NHS but Indi don't because they're meant to supply it as part of their own school fee/offering.

If you were to say the kid was home schooled, would it be offered to them then? Just out of interest.

It makes the political slant placed on it inaccurate.

If private schools in an area wanted to band together and commission the local authority school nurses to visit their pupils, they could do that.