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Calpol


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I was just wondering what everyone's policy was on calpol especially when a parent comes in and says they have give it at home. Would you record this down and if a child then needed it later in the day at nursery would you give it. Our current policy is not to give it if a parent has given in the morning.

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Unless it is for a long term illness/broken bone etc then we do not give calpol - it says in our policy that if a child needs to be given calpol at pre-school then they need to be at home - although in my opinion if they need to have calpol to be able to come to pre-school in the first place then they should be at home anyway.......

We record all prior medications anyway - although lately parents aren't bothering to tell us they have give calpol before coming, we just know when it comes to about 11am and the child starts flagging and feeling unwell ggggrrrrr

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There are so many different practice examples out there when I google medicine policies.. I always thought it was prescribed only, but the policy at my current setting is that it is given in an emergency but not to be given if a parent had already that morning.

Would you have a bottle of it to keep at the setting for an emergency do you mean?

The only time we have held calpol at the setting is when we had twins who suffered from fits if their temperature got high so they needed it administered as soon as a high temp was noticed (luckily we never had to use it though) Apart from that or something similar I wouldn't entertain having a 'stock' of calpol I don't think.....

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yes it's on the registration form as permission to be given in emergency however I'm going to remove this section. I'm new to setting and there are so many paperwork changes needed it going to take me ages to do.

ah bless you - I feel your pain! I had to overhaul every single bit of paperwork at my setting when I took over - good luck!

Please don't remove it because of what I have said though - it may be a common thing to do - I just wouldn't personally do it at my setting unless prescribed for an individual child because it just seems very open to mishaps etc etc

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We do have a stock of calpol - but as full day care (with most of our parents working in the city (about 1.5hrs journey) it is there to make a child comfortable until a parent collects. We always ring first, and do not give unless child has been in for 4 hours unless we have spoken to a parent. Our consent form states that parents give permission for us to give it if we are unable to contact them.

 

If they arrive having had calpol we make it clear should they need a second dose they will need to go home, unless it is for pain (rather than illness) only and is prescribed by a doctor.

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Same as us Poohshouse. We will only give minimum dose and only if a child has been in for longer than 4 hours ( unless there is a recognised risk of febrile convulsion or if the temp is concerningly elevated). Two people need to listen to parents consent on 'phone ( avoid a 'my word against yours' ) Its a difficult one - many working parents here too, who often are punished (made to use annual leave etc) if their child is ill. If it is not a potential life threatening condition then where do you draw the line if it as result of say, teething etc. I agree, home is the best place for a poorly child but sadly, working parents don't always see it as such.

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. If it is not a potential life threatening condition then where do you draw the line if it as result of say, teething etc.

But how do you know? have you taken their temperature and do you have access to medical advice?

Paracetamol is one of the most dangerous medicine a child can take (not in the amount of suspension we give them but in an overdose situation) . Meningitis is still a real risk and a high temperature can be a good indication that things are going wrong with a child. Infections are normally the cause of a high temperature.

Teething can be dealt with in other ways ,,,,but i dont have babies in my setting so for me this is not a problem

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  • 8 months later...

jumping in a bit late, in our policy from PSLA it states

 

Non-prescription medication, such as pain or fever relief (e.g. Calpol) and teething gel, may be administered, but only with prior written consent of the parent and only when there is a health reason to do so, such as a high temperature. Children under the age of 16 years are never given medicines containing aspirin unless prescribed specifically for that child by a doctor. The administering of un-prescribed medication is recorded in the same way as any other medication

 

But our supervisor is looking for it be removed as she doesn't want to administer Calpol to any child as it could mask underlying problems. but my concern is having children with us from 9am to 330, if a parent gets delayed and the child's temperature is rising higher and higher, surely is would be better to administer Calpol rather than letting them get hotter and hotter?

 

any thoughts or advice what you have in your policy would be great :-)

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  • 1 month later...

Sorry to jump in even later but i don't normally enter this topic zone and suddenly noticed a Calpol thread and i was intrigued to see what other settings are doing.

 

At the end of the day unfortunately we are not (usually) qualified to diagnose any child in our care and to give a child any medication, and then the worst case scenario occurs, it is then you who are to blame! Yes the health of any child is priority but in giving a child Calpol there is a chance it could have a negative effect as well as the usual positive.

 

So even gaining prior consent from parents via a form to administer Calpol in my opinion would not cover you in the unfortunate event of worst case scenario. You are simply not qualified to make that medical decision and administer medicine in a case by case scenario.

 

Best course of action would be to cool the child down in natural ways then phone the parents and ask for their advice, and explain the phone call is recorded or that they are on loud speaker so another person is in hearing distance and that you need them to make a decision on the administration of Calpol once you have explained to them the situation and the steps you have taken.

 

The "Claim for Blame" culture is possibly putting children's health at risk although there is always an element of risk with any medication!

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