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Teachers And Medical Negligence

Could school staff be liable for medical negligence claims?

According to a report by the GMB Union, more than 1 million schoolchildren are being put at risk every day because school support staff are being asked to perform medical procedures with little or no training. Brian Strutton, the GMB National Secretary for Public Services said: “Demand for medical provision in mainstream schools is increasing substantially. GMB want to advise parents that the makeshift voluntary arrangements that schools have in place are totally inadequate and close to breaking point.” So, in the event of an accident or a situation where medical procedures have to be undertaken, where does the responsibility lie if the care given is lacking or deemed to be negligent?

A duty of care

All schools have a duty of care to ensure that schoolchildren are well looked after and do not come to any harm from the moment they are dropped off until the moment they are collected. Medical duties are voluntary in most schools, but the GMB’s report found that 43% of those questioned said they feel pressured to take on this responsibility. Of those that do, the survey found that 57% said that they had not received the necessary training to allow them to carry out any duties, which included overseeing asthma pumps and inhalers, administering behavioural drugs, diabetes injections or adrenaline injections for anaphylactic shock and responsibility for catheters and tracheotomy care. Many of these procedures are complex and most adults would not tolerate being tended to by someone without the proper qualifications, so why are children being put at risk?

Brian Strutton believes that medical care should come from outside sources: “GMB are being inundated with examples of non-medical support staff in schools being assigned inappropriate and complex medical duties. In many cases, staff report they are getting little or no training or supervision. It's a sign of their fantastic dedication that they take on these roles, but we really need to ask more of community health professionals”.

Who is liable?

Until then, parents are left wondering who is liable in the event that a medical procedure goes wrong or improperly carried out. Most school support staff have no professional liability insurance to cover them for medical negligence. However, the school may have it written into its insurance policy. In any workplace, the employer has a responsibility to ensure that its staff are properly trained to deal with all aspects of their job. In asking support staff to assume the role medical practitioner - on whatever level - the employer then has a legal obligation to ensure that the staff member is trained to a point where they can carry out this role.

However, the identity of the employer may depend on whether the school is a state school or a private one. State schools are answerable to their local education authority, which may ultimately be responsible for the staff in any school in its jurisdiction. In the case of a private school, the employer is likely to be the school governor.

Anyone wanting to launch a medical negligence claim on behalf of a child should first contact a solicitor who has experience in dealing with litigation within the field of education.

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