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.

Of course not, because paediatric musculo-skeletal services aren't delivered by the NHS under contract with the LEA. They're an integral part of the NHS,

State schools will be paying for that service which private schools are free to do too. Maybe lobby for better SEN provision instead of all the other things private schools are hugely better equipped with.

Yes, they can.

Which is exactly what the parents should do instead of expecting it to go through school and the local education authority which doesn't cover private schools to fund it.

When you enjoy your classes of les than 15 in the private sector you lose in other areas as different schools have different priorities. 🤷‍♀️

So you're telling me someone can work hard and do what's best for their children and they are being punished by the government? Call me old fashioned but in my day we all looked out for each other.

Spoke to DD who was an OT for schools and she confirmed it was up to the school or LA to purchase OT services.
It could be he children"s private used to pay for the OT service and no longer does, which is her older child was allowed to use OT and younger one no longer qualifies

But it isn't a punishment. You just can't cherry pick which parts you get to opt in or out of, you're either in or out.

Plenty of parents also work hard and would still never be able to afford private school for their children.

No, that's not the case at all.

All of the same services are available, but through a different route.

If the private schools want access to the same services, they have to pay for them. State schools don't get them for free either.

If you want to be pissed off with someone, blame the private schools that aren't willing to pay for their pupils to access the services in their school.

No their school doesn’t buy into the service so they can access it via their GP.

that's just silly. Of course they can refer you to the appropriate service to be seen on NHS premises or at home. how many more times?

Who is responsible for the Advisory Teacher? Are they employed by the LA?

In our area, we have the Advisory Teaching Service. They are a department within the LA and come into state schools to provide advice for SEN children. In our area that includes all types of disabilities, including hearing impairments, but not exclusively so.

State schools have to "buy" services from the LA. They get a certain number of credits every year and if they exceed that, they have to buy more or else wait until they are given more credits. It's all part of the state funding package. State schools don't just get it for free.

Private schools don't get any credits so they would have to buy referrals in the same way.

It's the same principle.

The problem is that most private schools won't do this for their pupils. That's the issue here. Many - not all - private schools aren't really that interested in children with SEN or disabilities.

Let's face it. It'll be one child in about 400 in a state school that is given that support. 99.9% of children who need it, don't get it.

The privately educated child isn't being picked on. They're getting the same shoddy treatment state school children get. Pay for private support if you want something that isn't available.

This!

I find it sad that even though their children are enjoying a privileged education some parents are arguing for the crumbs crumbling state schools bursting at the seams with far more SE N kids pay for on very limited resources!

If you want the same lobby your private school
for better priorities. Maybe they could slightly enlarge classes and use the cash to buy in the same way the state does.

This is nothing new our son was in a private school when his deafness was diagnosed and he wasn’t entitled to the ‘hearing nurse’ which we fully understood because it’s a service for state schools .

That they buy into.

This hits the nail on the head

This highlights the issues with both private education and healthcare.

If you cherry pick all the 'winners' from the start you can create a very effective streamlined system for the people willing to pay. In healthcare this is rich people wanting hip replacements, and it only works because they can cherry pick. If bupa had to also provide icu care, treat asa 3 patients, mrsa carriers or ex drug users, it would fall flat on its face.

Same with private schools, if they also paid for all the social input, sencos, OTs, truanting kids, remedial meetings with parents etc that the mainstream schools have to cover by law, there would be less resources to dedicate to teaching and they would either be unsustainable, or the educational standards would drop.

@Jasp3ru as it happens my DC’s (excellent) private school did agree to pay for one visit a year. And we’ve had no issues with their SEN support for my DC - so please don’t generalise.

That's great that your private school is one of those who have agreed to pay.

But leading on from your initial comment where you were unhappy about the requirement to pay, you do understand now that state schools pay for it too?

In your previous post you said it was unfair that the private school has to pay - but state schools also pay. No one gets it for free. The payment system is just less visible to parents in a state school.

I was a school governor for 5+ years, hence having visibility of finances, arrangements etc that weren't available publicly.

I have two SEN DC and unfortunately in our area, private schools are spectacularly uninterested in providing support - unless you also happen to be academically gifted, because of course, that would look good on their stats....

I can't grumble about my son's support so far in a state school. They've gone above and beyond.

I do think he's definitely in a minority though. I feel like it helps that he was initially referred when he was still an inpatient during a hospital stay.

I don't understand posters saying that this child could access this service through the GP instead of through school?

Child was referred to a paediatrician (presumably by the GP?) At this appt the mother was asked which school he went to. They were then told that he wasn't eligible for an appt at the clinic.

How do homeschooled children access these services? How do adults access these services?

Why are any schools paying for any medical interventions? I understand that hypermobility affects school work, but that's not the full extent of the condition.

Not at all, the referral was to a service which the LA has paid for, but the private school has not. I'm pretty old-fashioned as well, at least when it comes to not attempting to freeload and then make a huge stramash about it in the flippin' Daily Mail.

That's not true.

Dc both had OT intervention. One repeatedly over a number of years. It must depend where you are.

If it was for general health needs you would self refer or go through your GP to NHS children's therapies. Which school he attends would be of no relevance.

If it was for educational needs you or the private school would have to pay for it as you have opted out of state educational services. This is because the local authority SALT is a traded service, so money from the state schools' budgets are paying for it.

Essentially the situation is that your son's private school can't have services for free, that state schools pay for. Some state schools opt out, keep the money and choose to commission their own SALT services or are academies and just keep the money for other things. If his school.dont commission SALT services, I assume they expect you to.

because that particular OT service will be funded by the local educational authority which they have opted out of.

The paediatrician needs to refer somewhere else or the parents need to ask the child's school if they will pay for it, just as state schools do via the LA.