spiceye Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 Dear All, Happy Thursday! Our medication policy has always been that we can't give any medicine unless prescribed by a doctor (including calpol and paracetamol). However a few of our new parents have been to their local GP and have said under new guidelines (as per link below) they have been advised not to prescribe (as you can buy over the counter). https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/employment/gp-practices/quality-first/manage-inappropriate-workload/prescribing-non-prescription-medication Do you guys give un-prescribed medicine to children? and if so would you consider sharing your policy? - I also read on previous discussions that lots of nurseries tend to NOT allow children to attend nursery for between 24 - 48 hours if medication is being given/temperature is developed during the day....again what are your thoughts on this? Many thanks. Emma
FSFRebecca Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 We do give Calpol on request from parents under the following circumstances: On the first occasion, it must be dispensed with a prescription (so that we have a box showing the child's name and the medication) - this is so we know the child can have Calpol and doesn't have any allergies to it On subsequent occasions we are happy to have a bottle of Calpol that is exactly the same that has been bought 'over the counter' Because we have babies, most of them have a bottle of Calpol locked in our medication cupboard in case they need it We don't give out Calpol to any child who hasn't provided the above details - they have to go home if they are unwell We request written permission every time it is to be administered, if a child needs it during the day we ask for an email request from the parents email account and we complete a medication form when the parents collect We will only give one dose - if the child doesn't improve then we say they are too unwell for nursery and must be collected We took the view that sometimes children are unwell and then they should definitely go home. However, on other occasions they are teething or have had vaccinations and one dose of Calpol can ease their day. If a child is 'unwell' we send them home, we don't medicate if they are ill - and we reserve the right to make that decision. We make parents aware of all of these things in our policy
spiceye Posted March 22, 2018 Author Posted March 22, 2018 Hi Rebecca, Many thanks for your reply. Our policy is very similar to your policy - the problem I am having is that GP's are NOT willing to prescribe calpol or paracetamol (even once) as per the advice they have been given (on my above link)......so I will never had a bottle/box with the child's name on???? Emma
FSFRebecca Posted March 22, 2018 Posted March 22, 2018 I know, it's hard. We stick to our policy and then the parents have to manage the doctor situation themselves. The other alternative is to have one of the parents or a named adult come in and administer the medication maybe? A child who is miserable with teething or post-vaccination fever isn't 'ill', but they shouldn't be made to suffer nursery if they are feeling so sad. If we couldn't give Calpol we would send the child home.
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