A father of a student who requires constant help to manage his diabetes has demanded School Nurses be permanently on site at Canberra special schools to respond to emergencies.
John Hillier told The Canberra Times he had to fight hard to push the government to have a School Nurse appointed at The Woden School after his son started in 2011. He was disappointed when this year's trial of a new healthcare model had left school staff calling a nursing telephone hotline.
‘Our son's highly unstable Type 1 diabetes can go from blood glucose levels of 20-plus to two in the space of 15-20 minutes, for no obvious reason, without signs,’ he said.
‘If he goes to two he’s considered hypoglycemic and that affects his brain and his body shuts down. When there is a crisis you need the experience and knowledge of a registered School Nurse to be able to act, and act promptly.’
Opposition education spokesman Steve Doszpot said permanent, full-time School Nurses were essential for all four ACT special schools.
‘We’re talking about children’s lives, and parents’ state of mind,’ he said.