Care Room Information & Policy

Bethany Christian School cares about the health and wellbeing of our students. We employ a Registered Nurse and ensure that all staff maintain up to date first aid qualifications. Please read the medical information to remain updated with the relevant information for your family.

Medication may be prescribed or non-prescribed. For the purpose of the policy, prescribed is defined as, “Authorised by a health care professional and dispensed by a pharmacist with a printed label, which includes the child’s name, dosage and expiry date”. Examples include Antibiotics and Ventolin. All medication that does not meet this criterion is defined as non-prescribed and includes eczema cream and paracetamol.

Bethany Christian School is committed to support the health and wellbeing of all students. We believe it is important to have a committed team approach between the school and parents/guardians. The staff of Bethany Christian School will abide by the policy ensuring every effort is made to provide professional care of our students. We acknowledge that our parents/guardians retain primary responsibility for their child’s health care. This responsibility includes providing accurate, up-to-date, relevant information and required medication to Bethany Christian School staff in regards to their child’s routine and emergency health care needs. Bethany Christian School has developed a  Medication Policy and related procedures to ensure the appropriate administering of medication to children.

Implementation

The School

• clearly explains to the parents/guardians about providing information about the medical condition and to complete the relevant management plan during enrolment.
• ensures all the management plans are updated every year and the plans are checked every six months to make sure they are up-to-date.
• advises parents/guardians that for prescribed medicines, only the child on the label may be administered the medication and only the dosage on the medication will be followed.
• resolves any difficulty before medication is administered by contacting the parents/guardians. If the parents/guardians or the emergency contacts cannot be contacted, and information is required urgently, staff will call the recommended doctor, if there is any doubt about the instructions, medication is not to be administered.
• ensure out-of-date medicines will not be administered
• recommends that parents/guardians have children immunised at the end of the day or keep children at home following immunisations as side effects are common.

If the school uses medication from its supply, the parents/guardians are liable to reimburse the cost of the used medication.

• requests that for non-prescribed medication, after 3 days, parents/guardians will be asked to seek further advice from their GP to confirm the medication needs to be continued.

If consent is not received, staff will refer to the Registered Nurse and the Principal/ Deputy Principal, to consider appropriate action.

Parents/Guardians

• must notify the Principal on enrolment of any long-term medical conditions such as allergies, asthma, diabetes or epilepsy where medication is required, either intermittently or on a continuous basis, and completing the relevant Management Plan forms
• must ensure all medications are handed to a member of staff for safe storage. It is vital that medication is NOT stored in children’s bags.
• must ensure child’s medication is clearly labelled with the prescribed information (dosage etc.) in its original packaging, and includes the child’s name and date of issue. Prescribed medication that does not bear the child’s name will not be given.
• must inform staff of any medications (including Paracetamol) being administered to the child outside school hours, such as in the morning before arriving or the night before.
• must follow the GP’s instruction about excluding their child from school for the first 24 hours after commencing a course of antibiotics. If a repeat course of antibiotics, including a different antibiotic, the child is not excluded, providing they are coping with the daily routine.
• must ensure the full course of medication is completed even when symptoms disappear e.g. Antibiotics or eye cream/drops.
• must provide authorisation and the medication plan at the beginning of every year for specific medical conditions such as asthma, anaphylaxis, diabetes, eczema.

For short term medications such as antibiotics medication plan and authorisation form can be given on the day the course of medication starts.

Controlled medications

• Staff must always have parental/guardianship authority and registered health practitioners or a specialist authority form to administer controlled medication.
• These will only be administered at the discretion of the Care Room Leaders such as school nurse and/ or the senior first aid staff member as designated by the school.
• Parents/Guardians are responsible for providing the school with the Medication administration agreement and prescribed medicine must have the child’s name clearly on the label and be in its original packaging.
• The controlled medications are kept in a locked cabinet in the Care Room.
• A logbook is used to document the administration of the medication and to keep count of the medication.

Bethany Christian School follows, SA health recommendation published on SA health website. Browse the below list of health topics, including medical conditions, communicable diseases and latest health updates.