Basic Level First-Aid Training in Schools Should Include Anaphylaxis

Teachers are responsible for keeping their students safe, which means they may have to give emergency first-aid. While all schools have designated first aiders with qualifications, it's beneficial that all teachers understand at least the basics.

An upset mum of an allergic child told us that she had asked her child's school if the teachers had received any EpiPen training and would they know what to do in an emergency.

The headteacher told her that the first-aid course the school signed up to, didn't cover allergy or anaphylaxis training. She said that the first-aid companies they used considered this as an 'add-on' and it, therefore, came with an additional cost. The mum was told that the school couldn't afford it. The headteacher then asked this mum if she could pay the extra cost for the teachers to receive the training.

With school budget cuts across the UK, it would be a travesty for schools to cut back on anaphylaxis first-aid training. With so many children in schools with diagnosed food allergies, allergy and anaphylaxis first-aid training should surely be part of primary first-aid training schools receive.

Never before has it been more important for school staff to accurately diagnose allergic symptoms and act quickly in an allergic medical emergency. First-aid training for school staff must include anaphylaxis first-aid training at its most basic level. If schools can't or don't pay the additional cost for anaphylaxis first-aid training, children's lives will be endangered.