The Medical Room
West Island School has a full time nurse/school health professional, who is on duty during school hours and is based in the Medical Room on the 5th floor, A Block.
The Health Professional provides care to both students and staff. Students who are unwell or injured at school should see the nurse and must obtain permission to leave school, if it is deemed medically necessary. Parents will be informed and students must sign out at reception. All visits to the medical room are recorded.
Health information, education and advice will be disseminated and delivered throughout the year from school, ESF, EDB and Centre for Health Protection. The Health Professional ensures that the medical information on Gateway is updated and shared confidentiality with staff, as needed for student safety. Therefore, parents are required to update their child’s medical records by logging into the Parent Gateway and informing the school of any changes to their child’s medical condition.
Medication
Students with medical conditions that require emergency medication, are advised to keep spare medication in the medical room. Where possible, daily prescription medication must be taken at home.
To protect your child, we do not prescribe or provide any medication. If a student is required to take medication during the school day, the completed Medical Authorisation Form together with the prescription and medication should be given to the nurse.
Medical Room Policies
To maintain safety at West Island, the following policies avoid the spread of communicable diseases, as advice by the Centre for Health Protection.
Fever Policy: Students with a temperature of 37.5°C/99.5°F or greater, should remain away from school until they are fever free for 48 hours without the benefit of fever reducing medicines such as Panadol or Ibuprofen (Nurofen, Advil)
Infectious Diseases Policy: Students with vomiting and/or diarrhea should remain away from school until 24 hours after the last episode of vomiting and diarrhea. Infectious diseases occur with children and young people, please remain vigilant for symptoms, keep students at home if concerned. Some diseases are categorised as “notifiable diseases” in Hong Kong. Therefore it is important for parents to notify the school immediately, if a child is diagnosed by a doctor, as the school will need to take appropriate precautions.
Horizons Week, Camps and Trips
Throughout the year students attend off site activities, with sports teams or subject areas. There will not be a nurse present, however accompanying staff are First Aid trained and able to manage emergency situations.
Any medication required by students should be provided by parents and the accompanying teacher informed. Please ensure that students are aware of how and when to use their medication.
Emergency medication kept in school will be sent on trip with the student and kept by the teacher as a spare.
Government Health Program
West Island participates in the annual Health Program, which is a government service providing Health checkups for all eligible students. The program is free and sign up is available to all students at the beginning of the year. Please complete and return the for should you wish to enroll and an appointment will be allocated.
Influenza Vaccination Scheme
The Hong Kong Government offers a Influenza Vaccination Subsidy Scheme to eligible residents.
Please visit the Department of Health website for information on the type of vaccination that should be given for the upcoming season. To be effective the vaccination should be administered in the months of September, October or November. https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/46107.html or call 2125 2125 for details.
Temperature, Humidity and Air Quality
The temperature, humidity and air quality are monitored throughout the day by the Health Professional and the PE department, to ensure that external conditions are safe for student activity. There are clear guidelines from ESF, EDB and CHP which inform the required action, should temperature, humidity or air quality reach a certain level. This is categorized by ‘Take Care, More Caution, Danger and Extreme Danger”
Staying healthy
The body and the brain experience huge development as students transition to teenagers and into adulthood.
Teenagers should be getting 8-10 hours sleep. However, the developing teenage body makes it harder for them to fall asleep.
For the brain, sleep promotes attention, memory and information analysis and application. For the body, sleep supports immunity, regulates hormones and is necessary for growth and repair of muscles.
Sleep resources
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/teens-and-sleep
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/sleep-tips-for-teenagers/
https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/how-much-sleep.html
https://childmind.org/article/help-teenagers-get-sleep/