|
|
Health & Safety |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
HEALTH AND SAFETY Our centre is cleaned on a daily basic to maintain a hygienic setting
for children and adults. Children are encouraged to wash their hands after
toileting, nappy change before meals and after messy activities and at other
regular times. This can also be encouraged at home to allow for continuity of
care. Staff are in good health and take safety
precautions not to spread infections. Staff wash
their hands regularly. Staff are aware of the
symptoms of common illnesses and alert to changes in children's behaviour that may signal illness or allergies. Children
are always under adult supervision. The environment is safe although
challenging for children. SUN CARE The MEDICATION This centre's policy on giving medication takes into
account not only the well being of children but also the legal protection of
staff. Please read this section carefully and inform your Doctor of the
necessary details when prescribing medication. * You must complete the medication form that is
located in each room. This procedure is to be completed daily throughout the
course of medication otherwise medicine will not be administered. * You must give the medication to a staff member. Do
not leave it in your child's bag. * Staff will only give prescribed medication if they
are able to follow the doctor's guidelines which they can see on a label.
This must show the patient's full name, the name of the medication, dosage,
frequency for administration, the date of dispensing and the expiry date; * If your child requires a dosage of these
medications which varies from that suggested on the packaging, then staff
will need either a letter from your doctor or pharmaceutical directions; * Staff are not allowed
to give non-prescribed medications except for panadol,
bonjela and sorbolene
lotion. Staff use betadine
to clean cuts, arnica cream and comfry for bruising
and stingose gel for stings and bites. * Staff are able to give an
initial dose of panodol for high
fever or bonjela for fever teething pain if you
have previously given permission in writing. However, in the case of either
of these symptoms appearing in your child, staff will first attempt to
contact you before administering this initial dose. * Staff are able to apply
nappy rash creams providing that written permission has been given. * Emergency medication forms are to be completed
when a child requires medication in an infrequent emergency, for example, ventolin for asthmatics. Please ask staff for a copy of
this form. * Staff are not permitted
to give injections to children. If this policy prevents your child from
having access to a program, discuss the issue with the Director, together we
might be able to come to a solution. ACCIDENTS Most accidents that occur at the centre are recorded
in our incident report folder. The staff member who witnessed the incident
records this. If your child has been hurt, you will be notified either upon
your arrival or contacted during the day. You will be asked to sign the
incident book upon your arrival to ensure you are aware of the incident. If
necessary, you will be contacted to collect your child. In the event of an
emergency, the Director, or in the absence of the Director, the Assistant
Director has the right to act, as one would feel necessary. You will be
contacted, so please ensure that telephone numbers are always up to date. Our
centre has an Ambulance cover for the children enrolled at our centre during
their attendance. All other medical expenses are the responsibility of
parents. ILLNESS The well being of children is of the highest
priority in the centre and children must be kept away if they are unwell. We
do not have the facilities to care for unwell
children, nor the staff to nurse them. If you know your child is suffering
from an infectious illness, do not place other children at risk by using the
centre. If your child becomes ill whilst at the centre, we will notify you on
the contact number you leave for us. Please remember to update contact numbers. Many parents find inflexible work and personal
commitments make it a difficult matter to take time off to look after a sick,
injured or convalescing child. The reality of children coming together in
groups is that germs are inevitably passed around and at any time your child
may be infected no matter how hard staff try to
prevent it. In order to minimise stress on busy
families, look for a good "back up" person, preferably one whom
your child knows and likes.
The above guidelines are for "Time OUT"
based on the National Health and Medical Research Council Guidelines.
The children do not brush their teeth at lunch time
at this centre due to hygiene practices, for example, keeping brushes clean
and the risk of sharing brushes. However they are given water after each
lunch meal and encouraged to drink the water, although this is not as good as
brushing teeth it is a small preventative in the risk of tooth decay. IMMUNISATION Maintaining a healthy environment within our centre
is the responsibility of both parents and staff. We highly encourage all
parents to immunise their children. Child Care
Benefits are paid to parents of children who are immunised.
Conscientious objections will be considered by the Family Assistance Officer.
Contact- 136150 The Queensland Department of Health points out that children who are not immunised
are at risk as well as putting other children at risk. It is therefore
extremely important that you check with your doctor to ensure that your
child's immunisations are completely up to date. It is easy to be complacent about the need to have
children immunised, but infectious illnesses do
continue to exist in our community and we need to protect all our children. This schedule gives the recommended ages at which
children should receive their immunisations. Immunisations are available at your local Doctor or
Regional Public Health Centre. In most instances they are free of charge.
Ø DTPa- Diphtheria,Tetanus, Pertussis
|
