Missed Insulin Dose At School.

[Jenarry]

I had an awful incident happen to my 7 yr old son Matthew on Friday at school and I am still feeling upset and disappointed .
The teaching assistant who is my son's main caregiver at school(and has been since reception) completely forgot to give my son his lunch-time insulin dose and only remembered when my childminder realised at 3.30 when she was picking him up from school.
My childminder was rightly shocked and angry that this could've been forgotten about and the teaching assistant's reaction was to say to my son..'Oh Matthew,you forgot to come and find me!' like it was all his fault!!...and when I asked him about it later he said he did try to find someone and couldn't find either this TA or the other TA who occasionally does his insulin doses.
Then when my childminder suggested that they should test my son's blood sugar to see how it was the TA acted like it was too much trouble but with an 'oh if we must' attitude she went off to get my son's testing meter. His school meter gave a reading of HIGH and when my childminder got home she tested with her meter and his blood sugar was 28.3 !
I've been angry that something so important could be forgotten and even more by the reaction of the TA who I thought genuinely cared for my son as they have always had quite a nice relationship together.
The headteacher and the deputy head happened to be around when all this was happening and have been very good.
I talked to them both this morning,they had a meeting this afternoon about it and the deputy head called me to tell me what steps they had taken to prevent this happening again one of which is that this TA will no longer be looking after his insulin doses and my son will no longer have to go and find someone to do this important job -they are going to come to him.
I haven't seen this lady yet but it is just a matter of time and I don't know what I will say to her at the mo.
Matthew told me that she got told off for it today and she told him this herself .(I don't know if she was trying to make him feel bad)I asked did she apologise to you . Matthew looked a bit surprised and said no. :O(
It's almost like she doesn't realise how serious this is.
If this was me whether it be insulin or any medication I would be feeling dreadful that I had forgotten to give it and I would be apologetic especially to the child. No question I'm sorry just needed to get this off my chest.
Only question is what on earth am I going to say to this woman when I see her. :O(

[Jenarry]

Sherrardk it is not up to me to set their medical procedures at school,it is worked out between Matthew's diabetic nurses and the school and always has been.
They have asked me when he needs to have his insulin ie before food,after food etc ,how often his blood sugar needs checking,and they have set their procedures with this information.
This whole thing of matthew going to find someone to give his insulin started in sept which I gather is a part of getting year 3's to be more responsible for themselves which is fair enough but i don't think that should include an important health issue and if matthew didn't come to someone they should be coming to him which is what is going to be happening now and I wrongly assumed would be happening in any case. My mistake I admit.
Svejk what do you mean you're not buying the whole head and deputy being there ? Do you think I've created a right stink and over reacted about this.
The deputy head was in the classroom at 3.30 when my childminder realised my son was probably having a high blood sugar because his 1st words to her were..'Sarah,i'm really thirsty!' then the penny dropped for the TA that she hadn't done his insulin that is normally done after lunch.
She reacted badly to this and my childminder couldn't help but voice this to the deputy head who had heard it all.
this was now a few minutes after pick up time and everyone else had gone so it wasn't long before the headmaster realised there was something wrong and came to check.
The first opportunity I had to talk to anyone was on monday morning,i have only spoke to the head and deputy about this and I kept it very calm and to the point. That matthew needs his insulin and that their system needed changing. They agreed and that has what has happened.
This not a new thing for the TA . She has been carrying out this role since matthew started school 3 years ago and every sept including this year she has been more than happy to carry on with the role when asked and has said to me in not so many words that she would miss helping to look after him.
I wonder if there are other duties that have been put on her that are putting her under pressure.
People are misunderstanding me a little I think. I am upset at this happening but more upset by her attitude when it came to light.

[johnny37]

As a T1 diabetic for over 30 yrs I would say there is danger here of overeacting. I dont know how parents cope sometimes. One missed dose is not fatal, although the TA could have been guilty of taking it too lightly. Most do a great job having to deal with all sorts of conditions eg autism. A hypo could be more serious, though again not fatal. Some people in this situation become acutely embarrassed and prefer to not say anything rather than apologise (includes me). In view of your previous good relationship you must break the ice, if only for Matthews sake so that you can move on.

[pixie373]

I believe her reaction was down to embarrassment and guilt rather than not caring. But i understand the protectiveness of a child with this condition.

[sherrardk]

If I had a child with a medical issue such as diabetes I would want to know what procedures were in place to prevent incidents such as this (regardless of the fact that current procedure was worked out between the school and the diabetic nurse), this could have been prevented if someone had thought ahead. You would have thought that the diabetic nurse (if not the school) would have enough experience to have foreseen such a situation.

[Sqad]

Excellent comments by johnny 37.....

[woofgang]

Jenarry, small point, but I hope that the names you used for the childminder and your son are not the real ones.....

[Jenarry]

I have done just that Johny37...which is a relief to clear the air a bit . I'm feeling a bit like she is the injured party in all this tho and she hasn't once asked how my little guy was..hmmmm.
sherrardk I have sought advice from his diabetic team and the nurse is calling into the school tomorro on a routine call and she is going to arrange that we will go together next tues to meet with the staff involved with my little guy's care to have a look at their careplan. And i have talked to one of the new Tas whio will now be carrying out his medication and she has shown me the doublechecking procedure they have put in place between the 2 members of staff who are now responsible for this and it was reassuring.

[Trefoil1]

Be kind she will be feeling awful enough about it and take heart she will never do it again. Hopefully she will pass good messages on to other staff.

[Jenarry]

thats the tack I have taken trefoil. i don't want anyone to fell bad about this

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