Understanding your role in contributing to children and young people’s health and safety is a priority
Understanding your role in contributing to children and young people’s health and safety is a priority. As a new member of staff your line manager will need to know how you can apply this in your work setting. You have been asked to produce information that includes:
an identification of the signs and symptoms which may indicate that a child or young person is injured or unwell.
an identification of the circumstances when children or young people may need urgent medical attention.
an outline of your own role and responsibilities in the event of a child or young person requiring urgent medical attention.
If a child is injured or unwell, they seem to be down, they will look sad and not being really active throughout the day. The child may complain to the key person that does not feel well or may feel tired and the appearance may be pale. The child may have temperature and asking for comfort his/her parents, will want to go to sleep and as the child feels unwell will fall asleep faster and may sleep more time than the usual. He/she will not take part in any activities will be carry out in the nursery or play with other kids. In occasions the child may vomit, cough a lot, refuses to eat or drink as well as having diarrhoea. When a child is in that state is better to be send home to avoid possible contagious to other kids or member of staff. When the parents come to pick up their child the key person will communicate with the parents how his/her day had been in order the parents to provide medical attention if this is required.
If the child’s temperature is above the normal body temperature which means he/she has high fever, finds difficult to breath, in worse scenario chocking themselves or pass out a medical attention is required urgently. In other circumstances like having a head injury, bleeding or having a fit the child needs to be taken urgently to the hospital. A member of staff needs to communicate immediately with the parents of the injured child and in case the parents have informed the nursery in cases of hospitalization can accompanied the child then the key person needs to go with the child to the hospital until the parents get to the hospital.
In the nursery I am volunteer in order to be nursery practitioner, I have been told in cases a child needs medical attention, I have to inform a member of staff or the management in order, them to take further action. My role is to stay with the child to comfort him/her while a member a staff provide the first aids. From my own experience I had with a child when he felt off his bike while he was playing out in the garden, I run quickly to get him in my arms and comfort him as he was crying. I took him inside to my manager and she cleaned his forehead and his chin where he had some scratches. There are times children need to get in certain times their medicines which must have been prescribed by doctors and depends of the medicine has to be kept refrigerated. The other day a child came in and his mum informed the staff that he had an ear infection. She has already given to him his medicine and she told we had to repeat his medicine in case he complains that his ear hurt.
