A teaching assistant who had to request emergency medical assistance for a student at the educational institution expressed concerns about untrained personnel handling medical procedures, labeling it a potential disaster waiting to happen.
James Wilton, aged 35, found himself in a situation where he had to handle a student requiring intravenous feeding at a special educational needs unit within a standard school in Leeds. He mentioned that his training primarily involved a brief PowerPoint overview, some practical tube practice, and then being left to manage the procedure independently.
Initially, everything proceeded smoothly for a couple of months until an incident occurred where the feeding rate was mistakenly set too high for the young student, leading to discomfort. This prompted urgent action, resulting in an ambulance being called. Although the student was unharmed, James expressed deep remorse over the incident, emphasizing his care for the child.
Following the incident, an investigation was conducted, revealing no further actions were necessary. James, who represents the GMB union, felt unfairly targeted during the inquiry, sensing an attempt to shift blame onto him.
He highlighted his reluctance to take on nursing responsibilities, as his aspiration was to be a teaching assistant. Feeling pressured into medical support duties, James advocated for staff to have the freedom to choose whether to engage in such interventions.
A recent poll conducted among nearly 10,000 school workers revealed alarming statistics, indicating that a significant portion of school support staff, approximately one-third, are carrying out medical tasks without adequate training. These tasks range from tube feeding to colostomy care, among others, and are beyond their designated roles.
Moreover, the study found that only a small fraction of respondents had medical support explicitly outlined in their job descriptions, with many reporting insufficient or non-professional training. The research also unveiled a decline in the number of school nurses, with primary schools having a 44% provision rate and secondary schools at 68%.
Stacey Booth, a GMB National Officer, condemned the situation, emphasizing the distressing impact on children, parents, and staff due to untrained personnel providing medical assistance in schools.