Rights of children with health conditions should be respected, parents association says

The rights of children suffering from health conditions should be respected, the Maltese Association of Parents of State School Students said.

The association was reacting to reports of a parent of a child with diabetes who had been told that no school officials would administer medication to their child due to lack of training.

Previously, another situation had also been brought to light where parents of a child with severe allergies were told to keep their child at home for similar reasons.

MAPSS said that in both causes parents were told that no school officials would administer any life-saving medication to a child due to lack of trained individuals in the respective schools.

The association said that the situation was indirectly pressuring parents to keep their children at home, which it highlighted was a breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“Teachers, learning support educators and the senior management team have a loco parentis role to ensure a healthy, secure and safe environment for each child at their respective classrooms/schools,” MAPSSS said.

MAPSSS said it has written to the Education Minister, as well as the Commissioner for Children asking for a swift solution that not only addressed the specific cases brought to light by the media but also similar cases of children who suffer from health conditions that would require an immediate response.

“MAPSSS urges the government to draft a national policy that ensures that, in such cases, the above-mentioned rights of each child are respected.”

Previously, the Maltese Diabetes Association had called for qualified nurses to be stationed at schools. The association said that nurses were essential to cater for emergency situations such as episodes of low blood sugar levels, which if not treated or handled immediately could have “serious repercussions on the health and well-being of youngsters living with type 1 diabetes.”

However, the Malta Union of Midwives & Nurses President, Paul Pace had disputed the call, highlighting that with the current shortage of nurses, having nurses stationed at school would be a “waste of resources,” that the country could not afford.

He said that a tangible solution would be to have at least one person at each school trained in first aid, adding that in serious cases an ambulance should be called.