Microsoft word - first aid policy january 2005.doc

MILVERTON C. P. SCHOOL
First Aid Policy
We have three trained First Aiders in school:-
All our trained first aiders are experienced in dealing with ailments and accidents and must be
consulted on First Aid matters.
Medical Care
Parents/carers of children who need to take medicines during the school day are asked to bring
the medicine to the medical room at the beginning of the school day and give it, clearly labelled
with the child’s name and instructions for dosage, to one of the First Aiders. It must also be
collected at 3.15 p.m. by the parent/carer. The child’s name and instructions go on the wipe
on/off board in the medical room which is signed when the medicine is administered. A
medicine note will be given to the child to take home to inform the parent of the time/date
medicine administered.
The medicine will be stored in the high cupboard in the medical room or in the fridge in
kitchen/staff room for the duration of the day and will be administered as instructed on the
container. No medicine should be kept in class or in a child’s pocket. (See inhalers).
If a child is unwell at school, every effort will be made to contact the child’s parents/carers. (It is
very important that we have up-to-date home/work telephone numbers or other contact numbers.)
Until we have contacted the child’s parents we will take any action required in the interests of
the child.

Accidents
The child will be given treatment in accordance with current First Aid practice; any injury will
be recorded in the accident book. If a child is unwell in class the class teacher will send for the
assistance of a First Aider. If a child is sent home with the parent or emergency contact person
the class teacher and school secretary should be informed. If a child suffers a bump on the head a
prepared letter is sent home with the child to warn parents to watch for the after-effects. This
letter will also go home with a child if he/she has suffered a minor injury.
Parents are always contacted after a serious bump on the head or injury to teeth. Minor cuts and bruises can be dealt with by any member of staff: i in the double hut using the wall-mounted first aid box; outside the junior girls toilets using the wall-mounted first aid box; A mobile first aid kit is available to any staff using the lower hard court area and should be carried at all times. A first aid kit is also available to staff to take with them when accompanying a party of children out of school at any time, eg: trips, team matches. This kit is located in the medical room. Our First Aiders will observe appropriate first aid procedures. Notes are kept in the medical room and policy guidance can be found in Guidance for Schools Volume 4 or on SIX. Comprehensive First Aid instruction sheets for:
are kept in the medical room, Head's Office, School Office and Staff room. All staff should
familiarise themselves with these sheets. The First Aid Manual is kept in the medical room too.
Staff should wear gloves when dealing with body fluids to protect all concerned against HIV and
hepatitis. All staff giving first aid treatment should wear disposable gloves when dealing with
skin abrasions, nose bleeds or sickness/diarrhoea. Normal hygiene arrangements must be
observed at all times so that all staff/pupils are protected from infectious diseases.
Should an HIV positive child enter the school and this is communicated to the Headteacher, the
Headteacher in consultation with the parents and the family GP will decide who should be
informed and how to proceed. In order to protect any potential HIV positive or AIDS infected
child who will not be able to fight off ordinary childhood infections like chicken pox or measles
staff should report to the office any information they receive about the existence of these and
similar infections in the community.
Serious Accidents
The Headteacher or her delegate must always be informed if the First Aider feels that further
medical treatment is required for a child.
The parent will be rung and if the parent/carer is unobtainable the local surgery will be rung
400236. Two members of staff will drive the child down to the surgery in an appropriately
insured vehicle. (One to drive, one to tend to the child).
If it is necessary for the school to transport a child to the Accident and Emergency Department at
Musgrove Hospital again two members of staff will accompany the child.
If the child is immobile or cannot be moved an ambulance will be called.
First Aid Administration
Rebecca Farrant is responsible for maintaining appropriate supplies in all first aid stations. Avril
Childs is also responsible for ordering all medical supplies needed for the school. First aid orders
are paid for out of the miscellaneous budget department.
Asthma Sufferers
Teaching staff and Teaching Assistants will be informed of children suffering from asthma and
needing access to an inhaler in class. A list of children with inhalers in school is in the First Aid
Room.
Inhalers must be kept in the teacher’s cupboard in the classroom in a labelled box which
can be easily seen and be easily available to the child at all times. Each inhaler must have
the child’s name on it.

If a child needs to carry an inhaler around school with them a second inhaler should be procured
from the parent by the class teacher and kept in the classroom cupboard.
When the class goes swimming, out on a day trip or down on to the field or bottom play court for
P.E. the teacher should take inhalers with him/her.
Children with asthma taking part in school camps should have immediate access at all times to
the appropriate medication. It is also good practice for staff to have a second inhaler in case the
child loses the one he/she is carrying. Teachers and any accompanying adults taking
responsibility for the camp must be given full information about the child’s condition and the
type of treatment necessary.
Class inhalers need to be checked at the end of each school year and out-of-date medication
should be thrown away and the parent asked to replace it.
The teacher should talk to the parent about the child’s asthma and discuss the child’s
involvement in P.E. and swimming and the effects of high pollen counts and cold weather on the
child.
The teacher should let the Headteacher know if the child is frequently absent with chest
problems.
First Aiders will assist teachers in reminding children to take their inhalers regularly and should
be informed of this need by the class teacher.
In Years R-2 First Aiders supervise the use of inhalers. In Years 3-6 the children do their own.
What to do if a child suffers an asthma attack
Staff should involve our trained First Aiders.
An asthma attack can cause severe distress to the child and be a frightening experience when first
observed. Children with asthma learn from their past experience of attacks, they usually know
just what to do, for this reason it is important to listen to the child. Because asthma varies from
child to child, it is impossible to give rules that suit everyone, however, the following guidelines
may be helpful:
Ensure that the reliever medicine is taken promptly and properly
A reliever inhaler should quickly open up narrowed air passages. Try to make sure it is inhaled
correctly. Preventer medicine is of no use during an attack, it should be used only if the child
is due to take it.
Note
It has been agreed with the Consultant Paediatrician for Community Child Health that if during
an asthma attack there are difficulties in accessing a particular child’s inhaler then another child’s
reliever inhaler may be used. This should be seen as a measure in addition, and not instead of,
the child’s own medication being made readily available.
Stay calm and reassure the child
Attacks can be frightening, so stay calm and do things quietly and efficiently. Listen carefully to
what the child is saying and what they want, the child has probably been through it before. Try
tactfully to take the child’s mind off the attack. It is very comforting to have a hand to hold but
don’t put your arm around the child’s shoulder as this is very restrictive.
Help the child to breathe
In an attack people tend to take quick and shallow breaths, so encourage the child to breathe
slowly and deeply. Most people with asthma find it easier to sit fairly upright or leaning forward
slightly. They may want to rest their hands on their knees to support the chest. It is helpful to
raise the arms to shoulder height and rest them on a high table or chair back, this expands the
chest cavity and eases breathing. Lying flat on the back is not recommended.
In addition to these three steps loosen tight clothing around the neck and offer the child a drink of
warm water because the mouth becomes dry with rapid breathing.
Preventers and Relievers
How Sports May Affect Asthma
‘Total normal activity’ should be the goal for all but those with even the most severe asthma.
Nearly all children with asthma can become wheezy during exercise. After a 5 minute run a child
can get a severe attack of wheezing and coughing which can last half an hour or more if it is not
treated. There is again a need to be aware of the extent of the child’s condition and their degree
of control over if it.
This type of asthma is called exercise-induced asthma.
Wheezing due to asthma is usually worse on cold, dry days than when the air is moist and warm. Prolonged spells of exercise are more likely to induce asthma than short bursts. Exercising with the arms or legs alone is less likely to trigger an attack than exercise using both.
Swimming is recognised as an excellent form of exercise for children with asthma and seldom
provokes an attack unless the water is very cold or heavily chlorinated. The symptoms of
exercise induced asthma may be prevented if the child takes a dose of reliever medicine before
beginning exercise. Children should warm up before games, several short sprints over 5-10
minutes may protect the lungs for up to an hour or so.
Diabetes
We have one child with diabetes currently -
Diabetes Mellitus is a condition in which the amount of glucose in the book is too high because
the body cannot use it properly.
Insulin is vital for life. It is a hormone produced by the pancreas, which helps the glucose to
enter the cells where it is used as fuel by the body.
Type 1
Insulin dependent diabetes (Body is unable to produce any insulin). This is the most common kind of diabetes in children.
Treatment
Treatment
In children the aim of all these treatments is to achieve near normal blood glucose levels.
How to Proceed
I. Organise a meeting between Parents, Child, Headteacher, Class Teacher, First Aiders. II. Establish a Diabetes Record Sheet covering all information needed. III. Inform all staff about the child and his/her condition. IV. Place copies of the Diabetes Record Sheet in the school office, staff room, medical room, V. Establish where supplies of quickly absorbed carbohydrate are kept in the child’s classroom or school bag. These must be clearly marked and must be taken on school trips. VI. If the child complains of feeling unwell never allow him/her to leave classroom alone.
VII. Maintain good contact between school, parents and child. The following may be a sign that a state of hypoglycaemia is approaching:-
hunger
sweating
trembling
pallor
drowsiness
glazed eyes
lack of concentration
headache
mood changes.
Treatment of hypoglycaemia
• Give sugary food immediately i.e. non-diet fizzy drink, chocolate, fruit juice, biscuits, • Do not leave child alone. Recovery should take 10-15 minutes.
• If a child is unconscious do not give anything to swallow. Place child in recovery

Anaphylactic Shock
We have one child with an epipen at present -
Anaphylactic Shock is an extreme allergic reaction to nuts in Paul’s case but could be other
foods/materials. Swelling occurs within seconds which can block the airways.
It is extremely dangerous.
How to Prepare (As Diabetes)
I. Organise a meeting between Parents, Child, Headteacher, Class Teacher, First Aiders. II. Establish a Anaphylactic Shock Record Sheet covering all information needed. III. Inform all staff about the child and his/her condition. IV. Place copies of the Anaphylactic Shock Record Sheet in the school office, staff room, V. Do not leave a child in shock alone for a second.
VI. Maintain good contact between school, parents and child.
Symptoms
Swelling external, internal
nettle rash
alteration in heart rate – may go pale or red
abdominal cramps
sickness (wipe stick from body as it will cause a further reaction)
struggling to breathe
unconsciousness.
An adrenalin epipen is the only thing that will work and must be used immediately.
How to Proceed

• Epipen must be in school at all times. Everyone should know where it is kept in the
classroom. It should always be taken on school trips.
• Use the epipen through the clothes, jab into the upper thigh between side seam and front crease, push down, hear click and count to 10.
Every effort must be made to avoid any contact with nuts – the sufferer should only sit at a
table at lunch time (the blue table) with children of parents who have agreed to supply
packed lunches containing no nuts. Nuts can be found in many prepared goods so we must
always be ready.
Heart Condition
We currently have a child with an unusual heart condition – Dionne Holmans- Price D.O.B.
11/04/2000
Any sort of graze suffered must be covered in savlon/germolene to prevent any sort of infection.
Mum provides the necessary cream which is kept in Dionne’s school bag.
At the sign of any sort of breathlessness, causing undue distress, the child must be rushed to
hospital and Mum be informed.
Leukaemia
We currently have a child three years into a seven year treatment programme for leukaemia –
James Corns

James is controlling his condition well but still get very low and tired. He takes daily medicine
with Rebecca Farrant and is visited at school ever two weeks by the Community Cancer Nurse to
have a blood test.

Source: http://www.milvertonprimary.co.uk/documents/policies/First%20Aid.pdf