Saudi Gazette Parents are strong supporters of in-school health care. And so, they have been frequently asking the Ministry of Education to provide a full time doctor and a nurse in every school in the Kingdom as educators have a lot more issues to handle, rather than to run and tend to a child in emergency. The presence of an experienced health professional is extremely important because of the rise of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, hemophilia, anemia, and epilepsy in the Kingdom's children. Moreover, there should be someone to care for a child if he meets with an accident while playing or experiences a sudden minor illness. A recent study has revealed that the nation's schools have been missing out on health services for their students for over 25 years. “A health counselor or health professional as well as a clinic should be available inside each school. The health professional, with the will of Allah, will be able to treat ill children, administer medications, and prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases among students. Their job will be to inspect the cleanliness and safety of the drinking water tanks and routinely sending water samples for laboratory analysis. They will help ensure that eatables sold at the school canteen are healthy, clean, and of high quality. In addition,they will also have to conduct several educational lectures and workshops to raise awareness on a variety of health issues,” said Dr. Salah Abalkhail, President of Health Affairs in the Directorate of Education in Madina. He further said, “The school principals are burdened with lots of responsibilities due to which they rarely find time to organize health awareness campaigns. It is essential for each school to employ a full-time health professional dedicated to fulfilling such duties. The Health Department at the Directorate of Education has developed 22 programs and training courses related to dental health, physical health, nutrition, and healthy lifestyle, however, due to lack of permanent health counselors at schools, not much has been implemented in the Kingdom's schools.” Khalid Al-Harbi, a father of an epileptic child, lives in constant fear when his son goes to school. As a concerned parent he believes that in case of a sudden epileptic seizure in school there would be no doctor or nurse to give him first aid. He urges the Ministry of Education to officially appoint a permanent medical professional in every single school to care for students who have chronic diseases, like his own son. Another concerned father, Sulaiman Al-Saedi, said, “To protect the health of our children in case of emergencies or mishaps, each school must be mandated to keep a full-time doctor or a registered nurse. The health professional can also teach students the first aid measures, the importance of nutrition and exercise, and the dangers of pollution.” Zainab Noor, a teacher at a girls' school stresses the need for an experienced nurse or doctor in the school to help educate girls when they mature, as they are confused and have lots of questions surrounding puberty and their growing and changing bodies. Many girls are shy and feel uncomfortable to talk about such sensitive issues to their mothers, and they go through the ordeal of their first menstruation on their own, without any support or counseling. “The science laboratory is a dangerous zone in schools where accidents might happen. Highly toxic, corrosive, and irritating chemicals are found in the laboratory and students will need immediate medical attention in case of a mishap,” said Saif Al-Hazmi, a school laboratory technician. In response to such complaints from parents, teachers, and the health departments of a number of cities, the Ministry of Education is currently planning to open 33,000 full-time health clinics in schools across the Kingdom. According to Al-Watan daily, the solution to overcome the deficiency of healthcare in schools will be a gradual one and will involve employing a total of 33,000 nurses in both boys' and girls' schools. The announcement from the Ministry of Education came in at a good time to a high school physics teacher, Sultan Al-Seraihi. He attended a first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation course and was certified by the Red Crescent, yet he insists that a health professional should be available in the school who is not preoccupied with teaching or other pressing duties. “I teach 20 classes a week so I cannot guarantee that I will be swiftly able to attend to a hurt student in case of emergencies. I try to escape for five minutes between my classes to inspect the playground, staircases, and soccer field to watch out for any student who may need medical attention. No doubt, a full time nurse or doctor at the school will go a long way to promote the health of the younger generations,” said Al-Seraihi. __
