To think that the teacher who left the child to die

[Fruitysunshine]

I have pondered over this story since it broke and my heart goes out to the parents over the loss of their son, his death being so avoidable.

Am I being unreasonable in thinking that the teacher who neglected to help this young lad dying from an asthma attack should be charged with manslaughter in one form or another?

It is not a case of asking a stranger for help but more the issue that the school had a duty of care towards the lad and by refusing to assist him in an emergency after being asked by pupils, she directly contributed towards his death.

Is that unreasonable or am I getting too emotive about this?

both i think
i thought teachers had to be first aid trained??

story in full

his brother told the teacher he needed an ambulance but she refused

it says in the article, she wasn't even suspended. I cannot believe it. Though she denies the children's version of events .

although as others pointed out, as a human being with an ounce of common sense she should have known better

do people really not know how bad asthma can be? i thought it was fairly well known!

Stewie, I didn't know that. I do now.
In fact, I will highlight this case at school (if not already been highlighted). Call an ambulance and risk feeling a bit foolish that the child is fine, or don't call an ambulance and...

No, teachers don't have to be first aid trained, there have to be first aid trainers available. AM actually down to do a First Aid course in June - very glad. I don't know if you need a first aid course to ring 999 if someone is going blue and can't breathe though - common sense, surely.

right, i didn't realise, all my friends who are teachers seem to be
Agree though, you didn't need to be trained in this situation, just have basic common sense

That's scary. Like many posters have said; many people just don't realise how dangerous asthma can be. I once got told 'It's not as if it's life threatening is it?'
This teacher obviously came into this bracket.
I don't know if you are BU or not.

Well I hope that teacher sees his face in her nightmares eery night for the rest of her life. She is a disgrace to her profession, and to her family and friends. How can she look herself in the mirror? I would not be associating myself with this woman if I knew her...

I suppose I did know in the back of my mind that if the inhaler doesn't calm breathing down then yes, it could be serious (and that is common sense too) but most kids calm down with the inhaler so I guess that's why people don't see it as serious.

I would think better of her if she hadn't denied the story despite there being several witnesses (presumably also witnesses to the meeting being interrupted). And better of the school if they had suspended her. As it is, she appears to be not only a singularly stupid and uncaring person, but also a liar.

Wow. I just started to read the second link, and got as far as "form tutor". ALL teachers should be aware of any medical issue to do with a child (I am a teacher, and we have all sorts of lists on the staff-room wall of students with epi-pens, inhalers, go-to-the-loo-when-needed notes etc), but the form tutor would be especially aware of a child's entire background. And as a teacher, reports of an ill child are always checked out and taken seriously. That this could happen is shocking and upsetting both professionally and as a mother. Poor poor family. There must be questions asked of the individual and of the school's information-sharing policy.

It says in the paper today that school policy said if child with asthma atatck not improved after 10 mins then must go to hospital. Teacher didn't follow this.

My best mate at school had asthma and we were often left sat in the cloakroom for a couple of hours while she had an attck, turning blue.

Telling the brother that the child would have to make his way to the staff room despite being told he couldn't walk sounds remarkably reminiscent of the headteacher who tried to put the blame on our (wheelchair bound) dd for "refusing" to walk up the stairs for her maths lessons. Of course discipline has to take precendence over physical reality

I would have thought standard proceedure for a child having an asthma attack at shcool would be, ring parents and ambulance, better safe than sorry.

Asthma is horrible I didn't realise how bad my ds was until he had a bad attack when he was 2 I left my then 7 year old dd1 to push dd2 up the hill while I ran home with him to get his inhalers I had never been so scared in my life this teacher needs charging.
Thankfully ds has outgrown his asthma now.

The problem is that athsma can be a mild illness and it is for most people as long as they take their medication regularly. But it isn't always and at times it is very serious indeed - I had a major attack last weekend, out of the blue, despite taking my medication regularly and rarely having any trouble. It just takes a strong enough trigger, or a new one, and it's a serious illness.

I wonder if this teacher has kids??

this teacher didn't follow her own employers proceedures.

by not following the school proceedure a child died

if she had done as she was supposed to the child would have been in hospital on oxygen

please don't tell me that she wasn't to blame

OMG..I can't understand how she could be so unconcerned when a child is struggling for breath.

The most important thing you learn in first aid is ABC - airway, breathing, circulation...but any person with a shred of common sense could take a wild guess that if somone with ASTHMA can't breathe...999. It is so easy to phone an ambulance. She neglected her responsibility to that child and should be punnished in some way. I wouldn't trust her to look after my children.

It is horrible to imagine the childs brother and friends having to watch him fail and an adult brushing them off.

I think saying she left him to die is unnecessarily emotive language.

Certainly, if he was ill and she was aware she should have made arrangements for his care and, since asthma can be serious, made sure he wasn't alone. It simply isn't enough to talk about teachers not being medically trained and the practicalities, the legal position is that they had a duty of care towards him.

Manslaughter is a possibility if it is thought there was gross negligence.