Medical condition policy

[Merlot]

Need some help and advice please. Has anyone done a medical conditions policy? I have a little girl in my care for 3 days who has recently had a diagnosis of a life long condition with her immunity. She is currently having some treatment with bloods in hospital every 3 weeks. Although there won't be anything I will need to do in relation to giving her medication or treatment, I need to record details of her condition and have all the relevant information for my records. I need to write a policy and give parents forms to complete for my records.

Has anyone done this before?

I've also yet to find out what the condition is!! As parents were upset and shocked of the news, they were reluctant to tell me until they had a formal diagnosis which they now have. I've given them space as I've not had the child but need to approach them again asking for the details and name of the condition. Hoping mum doesn't think telling me the outlines is good enough as I need all the information if the child is in my care.

[moggy]

I would not make a Policy as I see policies as the way you run your business for all families present and future.
For this case I would make a Care Plan with the parents as it very individual, personal and is not any concern to the other families you work with- in fact, to protect this families privacy I think a Policy is not the right thing at all as it would have to be agreed by all families and become part of your way of working.
There are various Care Plan templates available but as every case is so individual you will probably want to adapt one for your particular case (so maybe deleting the parts about medication but including parts about risks and recording information etc. Sitting together to write this Care Plan would be a good opportunity for the parents to tell you more about it (although they might not know much themselves yet, of course).

[Merlot]

I would not make a Policy as I see policies as the way you run your business for all families present and future.
For this case I would make a Care Plan with the parents as it very individual, personal and is not any concern to the other families you work with- in fact, to protect this families privacy I think a Policy is not the right thing at all as it would have to be agreed by all families and become part of your way of working.
There are various Care Plan templates available but as every case is so individual you will probably want to adapt one for your particular case (so maybe deleting the parts about medication but including parts about risks and recording information etc. Sitting together to write this Care Plan would be a good opportunity for the parents to tell you more about it (although they might not know much themselves yet, of course).

Thanks. I've already found some information on the government website and written a letter and devised a healthcare plan for parents to complete. I've checked my policies regarding issuing medication but wasn't going to write a new policy for all my parents. Not written my first post well.

[Mouse]

I agree with Moggy and would complete a care plan rather than a policy.

I've looked after some children with serious life long or life limiting conditions, but actually have very little written in their care plans as there's not been much that I've had to do. Very often it's a case of looking out for specific symptoms and knowing what to do and who to contact. A couple of the children had conditions that were very serious, but needed no ongoing treatment by me and had no special requirements. So, even though their conditions could kill them, their care plans very really quite simple - look out for these symptoms, if I spot them, phone the consultant before I even phone parents and follow their instructions. The chances of me seeing the symptoms were very slight (and I never did), but it was important that I knew what to look out for. I didn't need to know all the ins and outs of the illnesses, only the symptoms and what I needed to do if I saw them.

On the other hand, I have had children whose conditions weren't life threatening, but whose care plans were much more in depth as I needed to know about treatment, dietary requirements etc etc.

Give parents time to get over their shock and don't push them to tell you everything if they don't need to. I'm sure in time they will give you more details, but initially, just find out what you need to know to enable you to care for their child. Rather than giving them a form to complete I would sit and prepare a care plan with them. You're likely to get a lot more out of them by talking than you are by giving them a form to complete.

[watford wizz]

I have a child who has no immunity and i put one extra line in my meds policy that all parents/carers must inform me before coming if their child has been near any infection or has cough, cold, runny nose. This does not mean I won't look after their child if a little unwell but that I can inform parents of said child and they then make the decision as to wether he attends or not as a slight sniffle can put child in hospital.
I did a full care plan, meds permission and training. Parents also gave me permission to share info with other parents/carers so I put together a letter which parents and I signed. I also informed Ofsted, as I administer and store some very serious drugs. I also had permission to speak with health professionals and attended hospital visits when I can. This all helped me feel more confident about caring for said child.

[Maza]

Mouse, I've sent you a pm if you don't mind. Just asking for advice on how you dealt with children with certain conditions. Due to sensitivity, thought a pm was best. x

[Maza]

I don't think my pm sent Mouse because my inbox is full. I'll sort that out shortly, but I just wanted to ask whether looking after children with serious conditions took its toll on you Mouse (or anyone else).

I met a delightful family yesterday and told them I would like to read the information they sent me and do my own research on the condition before I commit. They are confident that it will work - like you mentioned - it's mainly just me looking out for symptoms. I'm overly vigilant at the best of times, so I don't think I would miss any symptoms, but I don't know if I would become paranoid, drive myself crazy and just find it all really stressful. The responsiblity/accountability scares me but I don't know if I am just being pathetic. I keep flip flopping between telling them yes and no.

Also, I'm not yet set up in a routine with other mindees - I have one starting full time in two weeks, but I don't know what he will be like, how challenging etc so I don't really know what kind of environment I will be working in at that time when this new little one would be starting with me.

Any words of wisdom?