Does your child's school administrator non prescription medicine?

[OnNaturesCourse]

DD has a prescription for her acid reflux and antibiotics for a chest infection.

The reflux medication is vile and she refused to take it. GP advised over the phone to try a different brand and flavour. DD took to this so we continued with it.

She returned to school today. I labelled all the medicines and filled in the appropriate forms for the school to administrator it all. She needs to have it all before her lunch today, and going forward will need the reflux medication for the foreseeable.

The school has called me saying they can't give her the reflux medication as it's not prescribed. I told them she has a prescription for a different brand and flavour but the GP advised we try a different one as DD wouldn't take the prescribed one. School remained firm on not giving her it.

Their advice was to collect her before lunch.

I'm shocked that they won't give her medication I have signed off on, and that she really needs.

I plan on calling the GP tomorrow and explaining the situation. But I doubt they will reissue a prescription for this other brand as its more expensive and not "on their books" (as said to me in the original call) Would a GP issue a letter explaining the situation?

Has anyone else had a similar issue? What was the resolution?

Yes with forms, letters and reminders.

Often forgotten

At the school i work in its a no. Parents can come and administer medication or we accept a letter from the doctor but unfortunately that's the rules.

Believe me when I say it is frustrating not being able to give girls a paracetamol when they have cramps (it's a secondary school) but I understand why they do it.

You really can't see a difference?

Just means kids take otc drugs into school on their persons. Best think is to have a signed form that they can be given paracetamol like a lot of secondary schools do.

The school are wrong. The BMA issued a statement a while back as parents were requesting appointments and prescriptions just to get schools to administer
https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/gp-practices/managing-workload/prescribing-over-the-counter-medicines-in-nurseries-and-schools
Our surgery has a standard letter that they send to point schools to the relevant guidance if parents have problems

@QueenOfHiraeth so schools don't get a choice of whether they take responsibility for giving children medication if the parents want them to?

But no teacher is legally obliged to administer medication, schools can set their criteria as they feel comfortable. Support staff who have had the relevant training can in some cases administer meds, but again there's zero legal obligation to. The BMA can say what they like but it's at odds with policies in schools often. The guidance you linked is up to age 5, and again its recommending GPs don't have to write scripts etc but they can't dictate schools.

Yes they do, they have no legal obligation to administer any medication, let alone some the parents have said so just because the BMA say its not in a GPs remit to write scripts.

This gives links for older children too.
School staff obviously cannot be forced to administer meds but it is a nonsense to waste NHS resources, parents' time or cause children to have time off if things can be easily resolved

No, I can't. I wouldn't have said it if I could, obviously.

Not giving her the medication before she eats could make her seriously ill - even put her in hospital at this present time.

Which is why a proper care plan is needed for school to manage things not just a mum saying “give her this over the counter medication”

Yes. We give paracetamol, ibuprofen, antihistamine, Zovirax, eye drops with written permission given by parents on a signed form that details the dose etc.

We buy a school supply of paracetamol, ibuprofen and antihistamines that we phone parents for permission and can use when a child comes to us with a headache etc.

We also give controlled meds (ie for ADHD) as many parents were forgetting to give them, and that was setting the child up to fail. Again with written permission.

I have had this as my son has allergies and I was told I could just buy it over the counter by the Dr. I then had to go back to him and say I need it on prescription as the school require it.

They are not medically trained, so they are under no obligation to give meds to any child. Imagine a non trained person giving out meds in any other setting. The legalities of it are surely more important than anything else where people sue for anything nowadays. Is there no way you can go to the school to give it? Also if a child won’t take it they won’t force the issue, so there’s no ‘good luck’ to them trying to give any meds at all.

A Pharmacist Independent Prescriber is able to write presriptions and would probably do a private one for a modest charge under these circumstances. If you are able to pay for the OTC cost rather than getting the free NHS medication then regard this cost as an extra pound per bottle over however many bottles you might be expecting to get through over the years. There wouldn't be a PIP at all pharmacies but some will have them, it's an additional qualification that some pharmacists get.

School aren’t obliged to give any medication at all. Speak to the pharmacy they may be able to print a dispensing label with specific instructions for school to check against

Schools are obliged to give medications as per the department of education statutory guidance on managing medicines in school.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/306952/Statutory_guidance_on_supporting_pupils_at_school_with_medical_conditions.pdf

No dictat on God's earth would force me to medicate a child with over the counter medicine..

Teachers are allowed to refuse and their union backs them.

What is a care plan? Never heard of them.

I haven't read the whole thing, but the opening title is "Children with medical conditions".
A child needing one off medication that's not even prescribed wouldn't fall into this category. Nor would a child with earache needing calpol 🤷🏻‍♀️

That’s a rather misleading interpretation though. No staff member can be compelled to give medication, schools will have a policy on giving medication and will generally have staff members who are willing to within the realms of that policy.

if a child has a long term condition then the medical teams/school nursing team will come together to put a care plan in place to meet the needs.

It's not the schools fault though, government guidelines have to be followed by the school who generally have no control over said guidelines.

Plus the guidelines are nearly 10 years old in which time gps have stopped prescribing alot of medicines which they now advise patients to just buy OTC.