Local Government Service Group Conference 13-14 June 2010

Guidance on medical procedures will protect staff and children

Susan Kennedy

Agnes Petkevicius

Jackie Gilchrist

Pressure on members in schools, colleges and nurseries to administer medication and medical treatment without proper training is increasing, leaving them vulnerable to disciplinary action if things go wrong.

The Service Group Executive will lobby for national protocols and guidance to protect both staff and children, will produce clear advice for branches and members, and will ensure consistency across service groups.

Aberdeenshire's Susan Kennedy, herself a Support for Learning Auxiliary, introduced conference to the 'guilt-factor' - "low paid educational support staff, predominantly women, who care about the children they support, who are guilt tripped into administering medications and carrying out medical procedures. They do so because they are not only scared of losing their jobs in the present climate but also feel guilty about the pupils in their care not receiving the treatment they need."

She added, "We need to make a stand against being bullied into administering not just medications, but an exhaustive list of medical procedures too. Colleagues who are persuaded into "volunteering" by managers are setting unwanted precedents. They are practising without policy, without extra pay and without certified training," she warned.

Agnes Petkevicus, City of Edinburgh gave examples of these concerns at the front line such as teachers rightly refusing to catheterise children because they had not been trained but then the task being passed to nursery nurses or learning assistants, whose job can be at risk for refusing.

"This is the Scottish Government's responsibility to ensure that properly trained staff are available to do these tasks. That is in the interests of the children as much as the staff".

Jackie Gilchrist from Midlothian Branch told conference that staff in her area are also being asked, and at times forced to carry out procedures that if the child was in hospital, would be carried out by a paediatric nurse. She told of how some staff, despite UNISON advice, are frightened and intimidated into taking on a number of medical procedures with training provided by a Boots Pharmacist!

"This is unacceptable," slammed Jackie, "A disaster waiting to happen. " She added "This is not a school problem. This is a problem for all staff working in the caring sector. So we must all work together with our colleagues in health before something desperate happens to a child, a client or a member of staff."

top