Advice needed from anyone who gives insulin injections in school

[ellingwoman]

I have a girl in my class who needs insulin administered at lunchtime. At the moment the mother comes up each day to do it but it is not practical so the staff were asked if anyone would be willing to do it instead. As there were no takers myself and two other TAs have been asked to undergo training and take it in turns to administer the injections daily.

I am worried incase something goes wrong. Do the parents sign a disclaimer? Will I be held personally responsible or is it the school?
This probably sounds selfish, but to me it's a responsibility that I don't really want but feel pressured into doing.

Obviously we will know more after training but I would like to know how it works in other schools. A school in my area has refused to administer injections to a pupil so I'm assuming the reason is that they feel it's too much of a liability.

I would check it out with your union and with H&S before agreeing. We had a child who required regular medication but were advised against administering it.

Interesting. Thanks

How old is your pupil?

I have a diabetic pupil (Y9 - age 14), who has been diabetic for just a few years. She completely manages her own testing and injections, routinely injecting at lunchtime.

I can ask her to check her blood sugar if I wish. I keep a close eye, but I am probably being overly cautious.

She's only 6. She can do her own bloods (we supervise and record obviously) but at the moment her insulin is given in her buttocks.

We have a Y5 diabetic boy who uses an epipen?

Is there any chance of her getting a pump in the near future?

We watched the mother give the injection today and it looked like an epipen. You dial up the dose and click and hold for 10 seconds. It looks fail-safe but I'm not convinced and not sure if I'll be confident enough to do it.

What does a pump do? I've never heard of that

Don't worry! Seriously. You should have training from the child's diabetic specialist nurse and should not be expected to do the injections until you are happy.

Ask for the diabetic specialist nurse to come in to work with you. There is not too much that could go wrong (famous last words), and what you are doing will greatly improve the child's quality of life and long term health expectations.

You should be given guidance on dosage, I would request that the parents give you a written form with the amount of insulin that you are expected to give before the meal, there will be a minor adjustment + or - a unit depending on the blood test results before the injection. The written 'protocol' should tell you exactly what to do - you should not be responsible for dosages, but can follow written guidance.

It really is easy to do once you've done it a couple of times.

Pumps are the 'ideal' for diabetes management, however there are a lot of issues around getting them set up (not least the funding issue). It may be the choice that the child's parents take in future.

We are in a dreadful system at present, which ignores the needs of children who require life-saving medical intervention which will affect their long term health. The schools are asked to support the families, however there is no central or county funding for this which would provide an extra 'layer' of funding (ie a bursary for a couple of people to be trained to administer, making it a 'duty'), there is no funding for 1 to 1 support for a newly diagnosed child. Parents of diabetic children are wholly dependent on a sympathetic and understanding staff, with the support of the specialist nurse.

We'll look back in horror in a decade or so (as professionals and parents). We wouldn't tip a wheelchair bound child out of their wheelchair at the door. We wouldn't deny a child their inhaler and we wouldn't refuse to administer an epipen for anaphalaxis.

Get the training and then you will be in an informed position to decide.

I suppose we are dreading the thought that our actions could result in a seriously ill child. I couldn't live with myself if I was responsible for ruining this lovely little girl's life. (These are the type of thoughts running through my head at the moment )

As you say it should be the norm really if we continue to describe schooling as inclusive. Thanks for the info.

These thoughts are perfectly normal and natural in this situation. It's scary enough for a parent to be told to inject their child. For someone not living with it 24/7 it's natural to feel that way.

As I said ^ you will be given guidance (must insist on it!). You would have to massively overdose her - ie to give her 40 units instead of 4 or 5 to seriously harm her. There will be days when she goes low in the afternoon following a 'normal' lunchtime dose. Similarly there will be days when she's 'high'. You will be able to manage these days and she will too as she grows older. It's just the nature of the disease and even experienced parents are bowled 'googlies' by their child's illness. Good control from injections with meals should reduce this and should help to prevent against things like: kidney failure, blindness, amputation of feet etc when the child is older. (WHY! aren't the government supporting children and teachers in this situation - it's crazy and discriminatory to all involved!)

It's a difficult situation that none of you want to be in, but it's there and with the right support you will all be able to make the best of it. It is still your choice though, don't forget that. All the best with it, whatever you decide.