Administering Calpol

[CroweRhianna3457182943]

Not sure if any other mothers have experienced this recently..... I have a 13 month old!
He is teething and has had a high temperature on and off for around 3 weeks. We have had him in A&E twice and in the GP surgery to which have all confirmed there is nothing wrong with him appart from teething.
Therefore he has been in nursery half of the month and sent home 2 times now! In which we are still expected to pay for those absent days too.
The nursery refused to give calpol when his temperature was almost at 40 which in itself it's dangerous for the child in terms of chance of convulsion etc! They would only administer calpol once I said I will pick my son up! At A&E the doctor and the nurse were literally laughing at the fact that nurserys 'policy' was that they can only administer calpol throughout the day if the doctor prescribes calpol!? He said how can we prescribe an over the counter medicine, a prescription has never been heard of ''take this boy home there is nothing wrong with him'' were the doctors words.
So of course I sent my little boy back into nursery the following day for them to yet AGAIN send him home!
It's ridiculous and would not surprise me that they send children home for no reason regularly because of the fact that they are over staffed and to rinse money from the parents.
Fuming lol

@Ozanj

40 degrees is convulsive / deathly high. I work in a nursery and send my son to a nursery too - nobody in their right mind would give Calpol to a child with a temperature over 38 (this is NHS guidance because Sepsis / Meningitis fevers can often appear on the lower end at the beginning and be masked by Calpol). While I agree these things are frustrating and you want to believe medical professionals I think you should take some responsibility to do a little research yourself - anyone who did would have complained about the medical professionals comments. They should not be dismissing a child who regularly gets such high temperatures regularly.

@Ozanj what?? Are you sure? My daughter had an incredibly scarily high temp of 40.5 and they told me (999, 111 & at a&e) to give her calpol

@MindyStClaire

Our nursery are great and will give Calpol and happily keep children who are in good form once a dose has kicked in. They judge on the child's form rather than a thermometer.

However, I would expect a call to pick them up long long before a temp got anywhere near 40. Indeed I'd be fairly unimpressed they hadn't noticed them going downhill as it's not like they're going to go from happily playing with a normal temp to the high 39s in the blink of an eye.

Exactly the same as this. He shouldn’t have been anywhere near nursery with a temperature like that, and my daughters nursery is really sensible about keeping them when it’s just teeth or a snotty nose.

There is a statement issued by ofsted that states 'prescribed' can also mean over the counter by a pharmacist. Normally a chemist will happily print a label for you with child's name and dosage.

At my setting we ring parent to check calpol can be given then explain we give child half an hour and if still temp they will have to collect.

Nursery is right.
Children who need calpol should be at home.
Fevers of 38+ mean children should go home, do a covid PCR test and not return until fever free (without calpol) for 48 hours.
When I ran a baby room we did not give or keep calpol at all.

Yes I’ve seen kids have sepsis / meningitis on approx 38 degree temps. It is why the NHS guidance exists at 38 degrees and not higher for all kids (rather than just babies). Often a temperature / sore throat is the first sign - then if it’s a more serious infection things can progress and go down hill quickly. If parents listened to some ‘medical professionals’ and only went to the doctors when the temp is over 40 a lot more kids would be harmed.

This is a very normal.nursery policy in NW where I am....nursery will only administer a medication that is prescribed and has the child's name and other details on the label....very very normal

I do not think nursery should be caring for a child with a temp at convulsion level, my point is the fact he was seen by medical professionals on 3 different occasions including A&E to which all confirmed he is ok
But he clearly wasn’t ok as he had a High temperature. I don’t get what your point is at all. If nursery phoned to say your child had a temperature, they need collecting.

Doctors can and do write prescriptions for paracetamol. We have had scripts for this in the past.

If Your nurseries policy on medication is that They will only give prescription medication, you either accept that or find a new nursery. And if they do not want to give medication For ‘teething‘ through the day, you can probably blame the parents who came before you, for bringing their child while they were ‘teething’ who then passed whatever bug they were harbouring to other children and staff.

Children with high temperatures should be at home not in nursery whatever you think the cause of the temperature is. Also, if your child has a temperature, I’m surprised your nursery will have them back without a pcr test as those rules are still in place at the moment.

@DropYourSword

I picked him up as soon as they called with this information, never did I say I expected a child with a temperature at convulsion level to be able to stay in nursery! *My point is not what you are saying at all. A&E doctor as well as his GP surgery will not and have confirmed in writing that they will not prescribe calpol. In which I have forwarded to the nursery obviously!* I would suggest that you check your facts*

So...what's the issue then?! You were happy to pick up your son as you recognised they couldn't stay in nursery. They gave the calpol when you confirmed you were picking him up. GPs most certainly can prescribe paracetamol, not sure why yours is denying this, but even if they couldn't you've stated you wouldn't expect him to stay at nursery with this temperature.
It sucks to pay fees when they're not even there, I agree, but I can't actually see that nursery has done anything wrong here!

The nursery would not administer calpol to him until his temp reached almost 40 and then they called me. They also would not give him calpol until I said I am coming to pick him up. Therefore the nursery have done numerous things wrong there by leaving a child until his temp is close to a dangerous level to number 1. inform the parent. Number 2. refuse to give any calpol until I called back and said I will pick him up. If you see nothing wrong with this then I am not sure. Also my issue was that medical professionals have said he is ok, yet nursery feel it's in their power to medically judge this only a week later when his temp was 38 and refused to give him calpol AGAIN to lower it, then I agreed to pick him up AGAIN, check his temp myself and it was 37.1 within 15 minutes? To which my original point was that the nursery being understaffed is quite a coincidence isnt it.

@Bonkerz

There is a statement issued by ofsted that states 'prescribed' can also mean over the counter by a pharmacist. Normally a chemist will happily print a label for you with child's name and dosage.

At my setting we ring parent to check calpol can be given then explain we give child half an hour and if still temp they will have to collect.

The most helpful comment.

Thank you

Wait till they get to school! They won’t administer drugs either especially those not prescribed by a doctor.

Our nursery will give calpol for a temp but only as a stop gap till you collect (which they request ASAP - I generally get there from work within about 20 mins). You then have to get a PCR before they're allowed back in. They say they're happy to take kids with colds of course but if your child requires calpol to be relatively content then they should be at home - they don't give routine doses in order to keep the child at nursery.

Why do you keep sending him with a temperature?! How could they (or you) possibly know that a week later the fever is not something else that needs to be medically diagnosed?
You are being totally ridiculous expecting them to dose your child up all day to mask a fever, what if he had a serious infection and something awful happened? They would be liable! How do you feel when you have a high temperature? Personally I feel pretty awful and would want to be at home not at nursery!

A week later. Could be any news number of things causing a temp a week later, it would be won't for Nursery to assume it was just teething and not treat as a separate incidence.

You are being told YABU and don't agree so don't know what else?

*If he was ill enough that you took him to A&E then you must have thought he was seriously unwell.

If he was unwell enough for it to constitute an emergency I don't understand how you can possibly think it's appropriate to expect nursery staff to care for him*

This. If your child needed a&e he should not have been in nursery.

My DC's nursery doesn't even administer Calpol anymore as a child another nursery about 2 miles away, died recently from administration of Calpol and the nursery had to close. I don't know all the details and don't know for sure if it was even due to the administration of Calpol but as far as I know, the child had been dosed up prior to being dropped off, and then was given another dose whilst at the nursery and then died some hours later. Very sad but totally understandable why my DC's nursery refuses to administer it now. You shouldn't really be sending a 13 month old to nursery with a fever of 40 though. Agree with pp's, that child should be kept at home until fever goes down. Not the nursery's responsibility, it's yours.

To which my original point was that the nursery being understaffed is quite a coincidence isnt it.
The nursery is probably understaffed because of the inconsiderate parents who send in their children with high temperatures, who then pass on their illnesses to the staff

They only administer calpol once we are on our way to pick them up. Rather than when they actually need it!

That must be a difference of minutes though? They notice a temp, call you to pick them up, then administer calpol. You’d rather they gave calpol first?

The nursery would not administer calpol to him until his temp reached almost 40 and then they called me.

This is a totally different issue - if they noticed he had a temp of 38, then 39 etc and didn’t do anything then I’d agree they’re wrong. But I’d say they’re wrong not to have called you, not wrong with regards to calpol.
DD’s nursery have a policy of not administering calpol unless they get confirmation from a parent. If it’s a mild temp and she seems fine, we don’t have to pick her up, but they won’t give calpol without us confirming that’s ok. Which I think makes sense, it ensures calpol isn’t given in the morning to a child whose parents might have given them a dose just before dropping them off. And means we are told twice (once at the time and once at pickup) precisely what time they had calpol, so we know when we can give another dose if necessary.

I agree he shouldn't of been sent to nursery

As a childminder I was advised on first aid courses we were not allowed to give calpol as this can mask the illness/ infections etc I too would have sent your child home every time they spiked a temp no matter what your gp said as I had a duty to keep everyone in my setting safe . My policy was if a child need calpol to get through the day then they had to stay at home until they had been 24 hours clear of needing calpol.

@CroweRhianna3457182943

I picked him up when his temperature was that high and went straight to A&E in which the doctor confirmed there was nothing wrong with him and assured us there is no such thing as a prescription from the doctor, which his GP surgery also said the same. They physically will not give us a prescription for calpol....

Yes the go can prescribe childrens paracetamol it's not the brand name though. My gp does

A pharmacy can put a label on the bottle as they would with a gps prescription we do that for school/nursery medications even over the counter ones.

Our paediatric dr has told us children don't always need medicine to bring down fevers and not to be scared of a fever itself but if the child is up set or in pain then give it then. Medicines can mask symptoms to.

Yes you can get prescriptions for calpol (generic obviously) as my dd has one for school.

It's just there for as and when she needs it.

Tbh I'm suprised any setting would give medicines without prescription but I've never worked in or used childcare for under 3s

We will give calpol if we have permission from parents, but we will also call the parent to inform them. A temp over 38C and parents are expected to collect their child from us.

At the moment a high temp can be Covid and this means the child must go home and have a test as if it is Covid we are at risk of having staff off isolating which means the whole setting might need to close.

Nursery staff are there to educate children, not nurse poorly ones. That is the parents role.

Nursery staff are there to educate children, not nurse poorly ones. That is the parents role.

God yes this times a million!! As a nursery practitioner I’m so fed up of us being treated like a children’s ward! I’m sorry parents have to take time off work, or be called out of work when their kids are poorly at nursery, I know what that’s like. But nursery is not the right place for them when they are poorly!

Just as am aside it's usually the speed of the temperature onset that causes a convulsion rather than the temperature number. I've had a child convulse at 38.5. I am an ex nursery manager.

Nursery are 100% correct to not take a child with a temperature that high though.