Teacher censured for giving medication to the wrong child…

A teacher gave an antibiotic to the wrong child at an early education centre. She had failed to check the name on the medicine before administering the antibiotic. Luckily the child did not suffer any ill effects.

The teacher reported the error to the Head Teacher and the parent but did not contact Healthline or ring 111 as required by the centre policy.

The policy included 5 steps for checking that the medication was correct.

1. Medication is correct.
2. Dosage is correct (measured)
3. Method of administration is correct.
4. ime of administration is correct.
5. The correct child is receiving the medication.

Both the teacher and a colleague failed to check that the child receiving the dose was the child named on the medication.

The Disciplinary Tribunal found that this was serious misconduct but at the lower end of the scale. It was a clear breach of policies and brought the profession into disrepute. The staff member’s mother-in-law had died the day before the incident, but she still attended work so as to not let anyone down. She was remorseful about the incident and resigned and retired from the profession.

The Tribunal decided that a censure was appropriate along with a requirement to notify any future employer if she does seek to be employed as a teacher.