Health Checks at School

IrishRose12

surreysaver wrote: »

Unless a parent signs to say they've received the leaflet, you have no evidence that they have received a choice. And you need to check up on the definition of implied consent. Consent is implied by someone making a positive action - such as holding out an arm to have a blood pressure taken. The lack of an action - such as not objecting to something - does NOT imply consent. Sometimes it might be referred to presumed consent - but then only if a specific law allows it to, and extensive public consultation has taken place. Look at the current issues over care.data - this is on a presumed consent basis, and look at the uproar over it. Unless a law has been passed with nobody noticing, what you are doing is illegal.

Just like we aren't mind readers and have no proof that the parent didn't get the note and didn't bother to read it!!
If it was an opt out consent and you DIDN'T SIGN IT, then that's your fault, not the schools.

Schools do enough running around after parents who don't bother checking their children's school bags, homeworks, notebooks for important notes. If you only KNEW the amount of running about they do, the next you'll be yapping about is how your child is not being educated!

Sounds some by reading your posts on the matter and still trying to justify your not sending in your wishes, that you are one of those said parents. Be it to the school or to the nurse, they have obviously sent out a reply slip at SOME STAGE of the year, as they wouldn't do the check otherwise. As you're right, they wouldn't do it without your permission, so you have given it at some stage, maybe when your child started school? and you signed all those forms without reading them properly? If this has been an option of an opt out system it's blatantly obvious that you did not sign and return that note, be it you put it to one side, you have changed address without letting the relevant people know about it, its gotten lost, or you didn't check your child's bag for notes. So the school have taken that action as she does not want to opt out.

The school nor the nurse are not mind readers, they do not have the time to run around phoning parents to chase up consents etc, it's not just your child being checked or taught you know.

Maybe instead of having a rant on here about it just write a note to the school, explaining that you don't want your child to be involved in anymore future checks?? Then you won't have to worry about anything like this happening again.
But then again, as I say, why a parent wouldn't like their child to have the relevant health checks that they are entitled to is beyond me.
And to add to that, the kids think it's great getting out of the class for 5-10 mins, SUPERVISED may I add also and playing a few games. They don't know that they are being weighed etc.

I also can't help but wonder, if you don't trust the school as you obviously don't........ then why send your child there??

IrishRose12

surreysaver wrote: »

Prevention is better than cure, as they say. And a proper test by a proper optician, rather than a cursery eyesight test by a school nurse, that won't pick up on more than just an eyesight problem

This quote in bold here just shows how you know absolutely nothing about what the school nurse does at one of those checks.
See instead of trying to make out medical professionals who have trained for YEARS know absolutely nothing.......... how about going on one of these checks by the school nurse, just to see what exactly is entailed.
And by the way, maybe take note of the line underlined which YOU said. Prevention is better than cure. So why not have a nurse check your child for things that opticians have missed?? As I'll tell you something, just because the optician has trained in eyes, they make mistakes also you know.
Our school nurse picked up a problem with a child in a past class, mother took her to the optician at a well publicised opticians, they said school nurse was being over cautious. School nurse returned the following month to check up on a few child she had concerns about, parent told her what optician said and she said she didn't want to rubbish what the optician said but she was concerned, referred her to a local clinic to a specialist, where it was discovered the child had a hereditary condition and they were baffled as to how the optician didn't pick it up. Parent then put a complaint in to the Opticians regarding it and when another optician in the same store checked, couldn't believe it had been missed!

I'd hate to know how you treat nurses if you were to be taken into hospital for something, or doctors for that matter:eek: You seem to want one professional for every part of the body:eek:

surreysaver

Calm down dear.

IrishRose12

surreysaver wrote: »

Calm down dear.

You winding me up?? I'm the one who needs to calm down?? Seriously? You're the one who s complaining about your child being checked to make sure they are being looked after properly, they are healthy and that there is no underlying problems that no-one else has picked up on! You're the one complaining about someone else doing their job. It's not their fault you didn't return some permission slip, or gave your permission without knowing.

Oh and one other thing, don't ever patronize me, I'm not your dear.
I'm one of those people who have to deal with parents just like yourself everyday and walk away without giving in to the urge to give them a piece of my mind!
From now on, check what your signing, check your child's school bag/school books whatever it is they have with them at school, and send any reply slips back into school. It REALLY isn't that hard, then you won't have this problem again

surreysaver

I hope you don't get that wound up in school. Wouldn't want to be raising any concerns, would we?

surreysaver

mrcow wrote: »

That's not true. It's not an annual entitlement.

The entitlement is as the optician sees fit.

If that's every 6 months for a set period, or every 2 years, then so be it.

My children are seen every 2 years as they have no ongoing issues of concern with their sight (other than the need to wear glasses). The NHS would not pay for them to have additional tests to make it yearly against the recommendation of their optician.

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1093.aspx?CategoryID=68&SubCategoryID=157

Fair enough. It's obviously changed (cut backs and all!). Last time I spoke to the optician about it, it was definitely annually.

theoretica

Out of curiosity when a baby is born I believe it gets weighed, measured and inspected in the first few days? Is consent asked and what would happen if the parents declined?

I personally think that the state's duty to children is such that basic tests should be mandatory, but the parents and child could opt in or out of learning the results unless action were required. The benefit to a few children, in my opinion, should supercede the inconvenience to others. I am influenced by the fact that my mother needed glasses for years before she got them, and only discovered this by trying on a classmate's.

surreysaver

IrishRose12 wrote: »

Just like we aren't mind readers and have no proof that the parent didn't get the note and didn't bother to read it!!
If it was an opt out consent and you DIDN'T SIGN IT, then that's your fault, not the schools.

No - it is the school's fault for using opt-out consent in the first place. There is no such thing as 'opt out consent'. Not opting out of something is not the same thing as consenting. In medical situations, anyway.

IrishRose12 wrote: »

Schools do enough running around after parents who don't bother checking their children's school bags, homeworks, notebooks for important notes. If you only KNEW the amount of running about they do, the next you'll be yapping about is how your child is not being educated!

Surely that is what all those admin staff sitting around in the office get paid to do - chasing after paperwork?

IrishRose12 wrote: »

Sounds some by reading your posts on the matter and still trying to justify your not sending in your wishes, that you are one of those said parents.

Not me complaining. It was the original poster. Like I said, they don't do opt-out consent round here, as people are prepared to take responsibility for themselves and their offspring, so don't need the state making decisions for them by using such tactics as 'opt-out consent'.

IrishRose12 wrote: »

They don't know that they are being weighed etc.

So, not only without parental consent, you are also misleading the children too? Doubly naughty....

Person_one

theoretica wrote: »

Out of curiosity when a baby is born I believe it gets weighed, measured and inspected in the first few days? Is consent asked and what would happen if the parents declined?

Health visitors visit within the first 10-14 days, and periodically after that until the child starts school, but parents don't have to accept the service and can refuse to let them see the baby.

surreysaver

theoretica wrote: »

Out of curiosity when a baby is born I believe it gets weighed, measured and inspected in the first few days? Is consent asked and what would happen if the parents declined?

I personally think that the state's duty to children is such that basic tests should be mandatory, but the parents and child could opt in or out of learning the results unless action were required. The benefit to a few children, in my opinion, should supercede the inconvenience to others. I am influenced by the fact that my mother needed glasses for years before she got them, and only discovered this by trying on a classmate's.

Parents' duty, not the state's. The state is required to provide the service, but with parental consent. It is not the job of the state (although more and more people seem to think it is) to dictate what will and what will not happen. If there is proof of negligence by parent(s), then there are steps the state can take to protect the children, and medical staff cannot take those steps themselves, they have to go through the courts.