contraception pill given in schools

Torry_Quine

In an ideal world 14 year old children would not be having sex and therefore wouldn't need contraception. It's very naive though to think that all the supportive education will stop children having sex. Yes we need to tell about all the consequences of having early sex, how to avoid being pressured etc.

nickyhutch

j.e.j. wrote: »

Some of my wording was a bit flippant, but my main points are:
*The child's medical records are at the GP surgery. Therefore the child is less able to lie or omit details about their health when asking for the Pill
*Kids DO know about contraception. They sometimes (or often?)choose not to use them. Therefore, it's not a lack of contraception that's the problem, it's lack of education.
*A school is a place for learning, it's not a blimmin sexual health clinic!

Some kids DO know about contraception - a lot DON'T. I promise you that.

Of course school is for learning. Clinics/drop-ins are usually (or should be, imo) held at lunch/break times, or immediately after school. Young people SHOULD have access to information and advice (we WANT them to access it, don't we?); those of us providing it should make it EASY for them to access it. The best way to do this is for us to go to them, not to make them come to us.

ETA: VSG - everyone in my Trust and local authority who comes into contact with children and young people, even very peripherally, has Child Sexual Exploitation training. Anyone involved in giving contraceptive advice/services to young people has training in talking about legalities, relationship issues and the like. They are experienced and trained in working with teenagers, and "how their minds work".

claire16c

j.e.j. wrote: »

Yes.

1) She would be going to the GP and asking for the contraception,as opposed to having contraception 'waved in front of her' in a non-medical environment
2) The GP has her medical records there and is medically trained, experienced and qualified
3) she can tell her mates, but it is then up to them to go to their own GPs, rather than casually asking the school nurse for their own packet of Pills!

I once went to the gp to ask to switch from a 3rd generation pill to a 2nd. He had no idea what I was talking about, looked up the pills I wanted in a textbook & told me they had the same drug in them so there was no point switching. Which was completely wrong.

I saw a nurse 2 weeks later who knew exactly what I wanted & drew up the prescription for me & them got the dr to sign it.

GPs are not always knowledgable on the pill. And you only need to pop over to the ttc thread to see some of the rubbish some of them have told the ladies on there about menstrual cycles.

verysillyguy06

nickyhutch wrote: »

Some kids DO know about contraception - a lot DON'T. I promise you that.

Of course school is for learning. Clinics/drop-ins are usually (or should be, imo) held at lunch/break times, or immediately after school. Young people SHOULD have access to information and advice (we WANT them to access it, don't we?); those of us providing it should make it EASY for them to access it. The best way to do this is for us to go to them, not to make them come to us.

ETA: VSG - everyone in my Trust and local authority who comes into contact with children and young people, even very peripherally, has Child Sexual Exploitation training. Anyone involved in giving contraceptive advice/services to young people has training in talking about legalities, relationship issues and the like. They are experienced and trained in working with teenagers, and "how their minds work".

I know that really but not all seem to

However, there is a shortage of school nurses and I honestly dont think that all will have always the time to spend to fully follow the Fraser guidelines once they established the Gillick competency

nickyhutch

Are you suggesting that qualified school nurses might give out contraception to young people without following fully the Fraser guidelines because they are busy?

verysillyguy06

nickyhutch wrote: »

Are you suggesting that qualified school nurses might give out contraception to young people without following fully the Fraser guidelines because they are busy?

Are you saying that no nurse has been hoodwinked before?

I have no example I would like to mention but it does happen...just as often as a GP prescribes an anti-depressant when it may be too quickly diagnosed

nickyhutch

verysillyguy06 wrote: »

Are you saying that no nurse has been hoodwinked before?

I have no example I would like to mention but it does happen...just as often as a GP prescribes an anti-depressant when it may be too quickly diagnosed

No, I'm not. In my experience in this area (13 years), I'd have to say, though, that time spent with young people discussing/advising on sexual health is not rushed (if anything, quite the opposite).

verysillyguy06

nickyhutch wrote: »

No, I'm not. In my experience in this area (13 years), I'd have to say, though, that time spent with young people discussing/advising on sexual health is not rushed (if anything, quite the opposite).

I am glad to hear that

KxMx

claire16c wrote: »

I once went to the gp to ask to switch from a 3rd generation pill to a 2nd. He had no idea what I was talking about, looked up the pills I wanted in a textbook & told me they had the same drug in them so there was no point switching. Which was completely wrong.

I saw a nurse 2 weeks later who knew exactly what I wanted & drew up the prescription for me & them got the dr to sign it.

GPs are not always knowledgable on the pill. And you only need to pop over to the ttc thread to see some of the rubbish some of them have told the ladies on there about menstrual cycles.

I was prescribed the Pill by a GP for bad periods at 13 but always had my checks since with the Nurse. Not only am I more comfortable (i'm 25) talking about related issues with a member of my own sex, she is much more up to date and sympathetic than any GP i've ever seen. I imagine for a school nurse sexual health is one of the specialty areas (she doesn't have to keep up to date with the latest geriatric care etc) and for a sexual health worker the knowledge and training is even better.

claire16c

Yes I always had follow up checks with the nurse too once I'd been on it for a while, they said there was no need to see the gp.