General Health Practice Guidelines

• Each school should have written policies for managing child and employee illness.
• Written personal hygiene policies for staff and children are necessary.
• Written procedures for hand-washing, which is the most important measure for preventing infection, should be established and enforced. Sinks should be washed and disinfected daily and, when soiled, should not be used for food preparation. Children should have access to height-appropriate sinks, soap dispensers and disposable paper towels.
• Toilet areas should be maintained in a sanitary condition.
• Written environmental sanitation policies and procedures should include cleaning and disinfecting floors, cleaning and sanitizing tables and desks, and cleaning and disinfecting spills of blood, body fluids, and wounds or tissue exudates. Routine household cleaners are usually sufficient for cleaning up spills of vomit, urine, and faeces. Blood or blood-containing body fluids should be cleaned with gloves, using a 1:10 ratio of bleach: water for at least 30 seconds.
• Food should be handled safely and appropriately to prevent growth of bacteria and to prevent contamination by other pathogens, insects, or rodents. Tables, desks and countertops used in food preparation/ consumption should be cleaned and sanitized before and after eating. No one who shows symptoms of illness should prepare food. Hands should be washed before and after food preparation/consumption with soap and water. No unpasteurized milk or milk products should be served.
• Written policies, which comply with local and state regulations for filing and regularly updating each child’s immunization record, should be maintained.
• Staff should, on registering each child, inform parents of the need to share information about illness that could be communicable, in the child or in any member of the immediate household, to facilitate prompt reporting of disease and institution of any measures necessary to prevent transmission to others. The Principal after consulting with the School Health Nurse or the responsible public health official, should follow recommendations of the nurse or public health official for notification of parents of children who attend the programme about exposure of their children to a communicable disease.
• Public health authorities should be notified about cases of communicable diseases involving children or care providers in the school setting.

Services offered

• School nurses available in all schools on a daily basis.
• School medical.
• Services examination – grades 1, 6 and 10.
• Health Education.
• Immunization.
• School health clinic.
• Home visiting.
• Dental Care.

Objectives

• To establish a good working relationship between the School Health Team, social workers, the school and the home.
• To carry out physical examinations on each child in grades 1, 6 and 10.
• To treat minor ailments and refer other problems for appropriate diagnosis and treatment.
• To maintain a high level of immunization in school children.
• To detect and follow-up all “At risk” children.
• To conduct health education in schools.
• To document examinations and treatment of each child.
• To maintain appropriate dental healthcare programmes.
• To collect, collate, and analyze data relating to school aged children in order to assess their standard of health.

School Health Clinic – South Beach Health Centre

• Children referred to this clinic from all government schools by nurses, teachers, guidance counselors and social workers.
• All referrals are documented in the clinic medical book prior to the clinic.
• All laboratory results and x-rays are collected the day before the clinic.
• After physician examines child and develops plan, the nurse explains this to him/her.
• Document plan in medical book.
• Make necessary appointments.