Student Health & Medical
The Health Room is a place for students to come to if they become unwell or are injured at school.
The College Health Room operates from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm each day.
The Northside Christian College Health Room is the provider of immediate help for sick or injured students and is staffed by certified First Aid staff.
Is my child well enough to be at school?
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 without the assistance of paracetamol or ibuprofen. 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 Queensland Health Time Out guidelines or contact the College Health Room at (07) 3353 1266 or health@northside.qld.gov.au
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.
What happens if my child is sick or injured at school?
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.
What happens if my child needs medication while they are at school?
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.
Medications and Medical Permission Requirements
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.
Emergency Medications – EpiPen/Anapens, Insulin, Ventolin
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.
Are there any changes to your child’s health?
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