If your child appears to be unwell, please do not send them to school; it is better to keep them home until they are well enough to fully participate in a normal school day. This enables your child to learn at their full capacity and avoids other children from also becoming unwell.

If your child is unwell and you are unsure whether they should be attending school, please refer to the Queenslan Health Time Out guidelines or contact the College Health Room at (07) 3353 1266 or health@northside.qld.gov.au.

When recording your child as absent from school for Medical Reason please make note of the type of illness, as we track patterns of sickness.

All students who are injured or feeling unwell are required to obtain permission from the class teacher before presenting to the Health Room.

While at school students are not permitted to contact their parents directly and arrange to be collected without the prior permission of a college staff member. All injuries and illnesses are to be managed through the Health Room, including contact with parents/carers.

Students are not permitted to carry or administrate medication, except for emergency medications (EpiPen, Diabetes Management, Asthma inhalers). This is so that if your child is unwell, staff are aware and able to administer the medication and monitor your child’s condition. This also minimises the risk of accidental overdose or adverse reactions due to the sharing of medication between students.

Services included in the Health Room are:

-Daily medication administration

-Asthma management

-Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management

-Wound care

-First Aid

-Diabetes support

-Excursion and camp medical planning

-Communication with parents and staff regarding student medical needs

Pain Relief/Antihistamines

On the enrolment form, permission is obtained to administer your student Paracetamol as required. This permission can be modified on Parent Lounge. For students in Prep-Year 5 a confirmation parent phone call is made prior to administration. This ensures staff are aware of any previous doses, and parents are informed of doses given at school. For students in Years 6-12 Paracetamol will be given exclusively using the parent online consent. Both liquid and tablet Paracetamol is available.

School also has a supply of pharmacy-labelled Ibuprofen tablets/capsules and liquid, Cetirizine (Zyrtec) tablets and liquid, and Children’s Chewable Loratadine (Claratyne). Parent permission will be obtained prior to the administration of these medications. School will only administer these medications with verbal phone permission and confirmation from parents that they have safely received a dose previously.

Parent Communication

All student visits to the Health Room are logged on Parent Orbit and parents can view the details there. Parents will only receive a phone call from staff when deemed necessary for student medical care and/or if they need to be collected.

Contagious Conditions

Please refer to the Queensland Health Time Out guidelines for contagious condition exclusion periods (“Prescribed Periods”). Parents and students must observe all the prescribed periods for contagious conditions shown in the guide. The College will notify parents where it suspects the student has contracted a contagious condition and parents will be required to collect their student within a reasonable time.

Students who become ill or are injured during the school day should report to a teacher, who will refer them to the Health Room.

From there, students will either return to class once treated or a parent or listed emergency contact person will be notified if their child needs to go home. Children who present to the Health Room with a temperature of 37.8 degrees or over, will be sent home. Your child should be collected in a reasonable time after you have been contacted by the College. The Health Room has the facilities to care for students on a short-term basis only.

While at school students are not permitted to contact their parents directly and arrange to be collected without the prior permission of a college staff member. All injuries and illnesses are to be managed through the Health Room, including contact with parents/carers.

Students are not permitted to keep medication on their person or to administer any medication to other students. The only exceptions to this are Epi-Pens/Anapens, diabetes medication and asthma medication.

First Aid may administer paracetamol once parental permission has been given.

All other medication, including antihistamines, migraine medication or period pain medication, should be registered and kept in the College Health Room. This is so that if your child is unwell, staff are aware and able to administer the medication and monitor your child’s condition. This also minimises the risk of accidental overdose or adverse reactions due to the sharing of medication between students.

Any student medication (including over the counter) stored on campus for students must be:

• In original packaging
• With a pharmacy label clearly stating the student’s name, name of the medication, dose and time to be administered
• Be within the expiry date
• Completed Administer Medication Authority Form (please NB whether it is required to accompany them off campus for excursions and sporting events)
• The appropriate associated medical condition added on Parent Orbit

Medications and associated forms are to be handed to a Health Room staff member, not directly to class teachers or other college receptions. Students are not permitted to carry medications to and from school themselves.

1. Parents must complete a Medication Authority form.

2. Parents must provide the medication;

• in the original labelled container
• with a pharmacy label clearly stating the student’s name, name of the medication, dose and time to be administered
• and must be within the expiry date.

Parents whose child requires emergency medication are asked to provide the Health Room/First Aid with a current Medical Action Plan every year, along with the necessary emergency medications, within the expiry date.

As the Action Plan is part of our permission and instruction procedure in case of a medical emergency, we need to have a current Action Plan for your child, even if there are not any changes to the plan. This is required for all students at school who are at risk of anaphylaxis, require insulin for diabetes or Ventolin for asthma, and should be completed by your GP or Specialist every time your child’s condition is reviewed or EpiPen prescription is renewed.

Parents/Guardians are asked to inform the college of any changes to their child’s health; please log in to Parent Lounge to update, add or remove student medical conditions.

The College Health Room can provide the best care for your child when they are fully informed of all medical issues affecting your child.

• Queensland Health Time Out PDF

• Administer Medication Authority Form

• Camp Medication Form

Emergency Medications such as EpiPens, Insulin, Asthma puffers must be provided to the school accompanied by an up-to-date Action Plan that is signed by a medical practitioner. While these actions plan often don’t expire, we kindly request that you review and provide updated plans as appropriate.

Asthma inhalers and Action Plans are stored safely in classrooms from Prep-Grade 2 so that they are easily accessible and accompany students out of the classroom. However, from Grade 3 and beyond students are encouraged to be responsible for their own inhaler (on themselves/in school bag) and may self-administer as appropriate.

All student EpiPens are stored in the Health Room in a clearly identified and accessible location. The accompany students off campus. Students are allowed to have a second EpiPen in their school bag.

All student medications required for a camp in Grades 3-10 must be provided in a Webster/Blister Pack. The Blister Pack must be handed in with the completed Blister Pack Checklist. See NCC Camp Medication Requirements FORM. Any mediations that are unable to be put in a webster pack (eg last minute antibiotics, inhalers, liquids) must be pharmacy-labelled, in original packaging, and sent in with a completed Camp Medication Administration Form.

Student medications required on camp in Grades 11-12 must complete a Senior School Approval for Self-Medication. Please note Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 medications must be handed in and dispensed by staff.

Preparing for camp with food allergies e-book

Please contact us if you'd like to discuss food management for your student with food allergies on camp: 

(07) 3353 7395

health@northside.qld.edu.au

It is essential that this information is updated on Parent Lounge so that appropriate food is provided for your child. Please note: the more specific/detail you can provide is valuable. Please ensure that this information is reviewed as necessary and remains current.

Please ensure that these are reviewed regularly and remain current. Please add any medication requirements associated with the condition. Add any supporting documentation attachments. The College Health Room can provide the best care for your child when they are fully informed of all medical issues affecting your child.

Please familiarise yourself with School’s Use of Orthopaedic Supports on Campus. For us to safely meet our duty of care for a student using crutches etc, it is crucial that we receive appropriate communication from parents.