Calls grow for dedicated nurse at special school

Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporter

Campaigners are stepping up their efforts for a special school to have a dedicated nurse.

They have been calling for one at Ysgol Heol Goffa, Llanelli which looks after 120-plus young people aged three to 19 with a range of additional needs, for years.

Welsh Government education inspectors said in a largely positive report in January the lack of a dedicated school nurse limited the ongoing health support available for pupils with complex medical needs, with school staff managing a wide range of healthcare responsibilities and relying on external professionals for updates.

Campaigner and Llanelli town councillor Shaun Greaney said four pupils had tragically died in the last six months, although not in school, and Carmarthenshire Council has stressed a causal connection between any deaths and the matter of nursing provision should not be drawn without clear evidence.

Cllr Greaney said the action group held an online meeting with Hywel Dda University Health Board representatives recently but he said they couldn’t give a guarantee a nurse would be employed, or give give a deadline for a decision, or reach a solution without the involvement of the council.

“But it was encouraging that they finally listened to the overwhelming evidence presented to them and they pledged something would be done,” he said.

Lana Dakin, of Llanelli, whose son Jac attends Ysgol Heol Goffa, said she was very worried about the lack of a nurse. Jac suffers from a rare genetic condition and has complex medical needs.

She said: “The staff at the school are great but they should not have to carry this alone. The children here have some of the most complex medical needs in our community.”

She called on the health board to provide a nurse for the school. “Children like Jac should not have to wait,” she said. “They deserve support now.”

In response to the concerns raised by Cllr Greaney and Ms Dakin, Sharon Daniel, director of nursing, quality and patient experience at Hywel Dda, said the health and wellbeing of all children and young people was a health board priority.

“We support the children and young people at Ysgol Heol Goffa with a specialist/community children nursing service to meet their universal health needs, and through the provision of training for staff at the school,” she said.

The health board’s support, she said, ensured every pupil with healthcare needs could be cared for competently and confidently within the school environment. She added health chiefs backed “ongoing actions to strengthen provision and ensure the best possible outcomes for the pupils and staff”.

The council said responsibility for commissioning and delivering school nursing services in Carmarthenshire rested with the health board.

Cllr Glynog Davies, cabinet member for education, said: “The council has repeatedly raised concerns about nursing provision and has engaged with Hywel Dda University Health Board, Welsh Government, the school and the Children’s Commissioner for Wales to seek a sustainable solution.

“The council’s position has consistently been that learners at Ysgol Heol Goffa must receive appropriate healthcare support. We have previously drawn attention to Welsh Government guidance which states that each special school should have access to at least one dedicated health board-employed registered nurse.”

Cllr Davies said the authority wanted these discussions brought to a conclusion and that currently there wasn’t a confirmed timescale for a final health board decision.

He added: “It would not be appropriate for the council to comment publicly on individual pupils or their circumstances. Nor should a causal connection be drawn between any deaths and the question of nursing provision without clear clinical evidence.”

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