Looking after a child with diabetes isn't just the responsibility of one person. But everyone involved in looking after a child with diabetes as a slightly different role and responsibilities in a child’s care.
We know school nurses are quite often stretched over a few schools and helping to organise care and support children with loads of different medical conditions. But by working with a child with diabetes PDSN, you’ll be able to make sure the school has the right support and care in place.
Responsibilities
Training staff
As the school nurse, your primary responsibility is helping the school to support and look after children with medical conditions. Making sure enough staff are competently trained and are confident looking after a child with a medical condition is a big part of this.
A child with Type 1 diabetes should have at least two members of staff who are fully trained and confident looking after them.
Every child with diabetes will have a PDSN. The PDSN will generally be responsible for identifying what support a child will need in school, helping to put together their Individual Healthcare Plan, making sure training has been organised, and that staff have been signed off as competent to deliver care after they’ve been trained.
If for some reason the PDSN can’t do this, you’ll need to speak to the child’s healthcare team and the school to make sure they’re getting the right training and expertise.
Schools should make sure all members of staff know if a student has diabetes. You might be asked to arrange diabetes awareness training for other members of school staff that don’t need to be fully trained. Depending on your local area’s arrangements you might also play a part in training staff.
If you organise or give any training, you must make sure the school staff know what an emergency is. They should also feel confident that they know what to do in an emergency.
You should also have records of every child with diabetes in the schools you cover and have a copy of their most up-to-date IHP.
