Insulin in schools?

[Cate]

Hi folks,

This is purely interest for me, as my LO is not diabetic (just me! lol). The school where we are applying for her to attend nursery from September states in its prospectus that "No medicines may be brought onto school premises to be administered to a child, with the exception of asthma inhalers."

Surely this is discrimination (potentially) and therefore covered by the DDA? Can anyone put me straight? If it is and there's policies/laws/whatever to back it up then I'll raise it with the school, as it's made me really angry - reminds me of the problems I had at primary school with being diabetic!

Thanks,

Cate.

 

[Sugarbum]

Oh my god that sounds dreadful!

I just wanted to vent that, I have no idea about the answer 😉

Im sure someone will though xx

 

[Adrienne]

Don't panic. They will mean antibiotics, calpol etc etc, they don't mean things like insulin and permanent stuff like my daughter's creon which are digestive enzymes.

Lots of schools have made this type of policy as receptionists and office staff ended up with so many temporary medications it was getting out of hand and I imagine some were mixed up.

If any school insisted on no insulin pumps or no injections of a life saving medicine they know full well it would be against the DDA and would be hauled up infront of courts.

 

[smile4loubie]

I was diagnosed diabetic while at secondry school. I was allowed to keep my insulin in the medical room and go there to take it. It was kept in a cool cupboard. The nurse just had to know I was there when I took it. I usually took it after I had eaten.

 

[Freddie99]

I was diagnosed shortly after I'd just started school. I think it was in year one or something like that. At the time I was on a bimodal regime so there wasn't any need to keep insulin at school. However, when I went onto MDI rougly aged eight or nine I had no issues. In fact, one of the school nurses was diabetic so I often went to do my pre lunch jabs andpre lunch blood test under her supervision, you see at the time you had to inject about half an hour before eating. When I went into year four that all changed and I just did it in the class room.
Schools haven't had issues with me keeping insulins in my own personal space or with me taking it (bar the ever present couple of *insert obsecenity of choice* making a fuss about it) At my last school (Eastbourne College) there were never any issues. The med centre there always kept a glucagon for me (it was manned by trained nurses) and I always had a little stash of things in my desk in house. People didn't question what I was doing.

 

[grahams mum]

hi at graham school they give antibiotics too if children need to finish the 7 days course

 

[Cate]

Interesting.

I suspect in practise they'd allow insulin on school premises, it just got my back up! I didn't start MDI till I was in the 6th form, but I used to have to go to the toilets to inject, there was no school nurse/medical area so just had to make do. Also wasn't allowed to do blood tests in "public areas" (toilets, or surrounded by friends lol). Oh and memorably I was refused permission to go to the loo on numerous occasions, and also given detentions for eating glucose tablets. Even though my parents and I had both explained the reasons for it.

God I hated that school...

I'm considering becoming a school governor at this school, which is why I was mooching round their website, so maybe it's something I'll bring up should the time come 🙂