Consultation launched over asthma inhalers in schools
Tony Fitzpatrick, Headteacher at Barnwell Middle School in Stevenage - Credit: Archant
Following a sustained campaign, the Government has launched a consultation on allowing schools to keep an inhaler for emergencies.
Shannon Shaw suffered a fatal asthma attack - Credit: Archant
The decision to hold a public consultation on permitting schools to keep an inhaler for emergency use - something which is currently illegal - was taken by the Government in October last year, but the consultation has only just been launched.
It is backed by the headteacher of Barnwell School in Stevenage, Tony Fitzpatrick, after a pupil suffered a severe asthma attack and died.
Shannon Shaw, 13, was on a bus in Broadwater Crescent, Stevenage, where she lived, when she suffered the fatal attack on February 11, 2008.
Although the incident did not take place on school premises, Mr Fitzpatrick has welcomed the public consultation, saying: “The more things like inhalers and defibrillators we have in schools the better.”
Stevenage MP Stephen McPartland has been campaigning for more than three years for the law to be changed, calling it “basic common sense”.
He said: “I have been campaigning with Asthma UK so we can keep children with asthma safe at school.
Most Read
- 1 Licence review for Hitchin's Chicken George after neighbour complaint
- 2 'He lives on in the hearts of those who knew him' - hundreds pay respects to Kajetan at moving mass
- 3 Bid to find living kidney transplant donor for Hitchin girl
- 4 Decision on controversial Lord Lister application deferred
- 5 Permanent parking loss if outdoor seating plans approved
- 6 Stevenage school in 'area of huge deprivation' wins national award
- 7 Hitchin Lavender named the most Instagrammed floral location in UK
- 8 Former company boss fined after illegal waste dumped at quarry
- 9 Herts police officers shared rape 'jokes' and bestiality porn on WhatsApp
- 10 Funeral mass for beloved Kajetan Migdal to take place in Letchworth
“I am delighted the Government is consulting on this matter.”
He said preventing schools from keeping emergency inhalers in first aid kits to give to children suffering asthma attacks is “a ridiculous situation” that needs to be changed.
To respond to the consultation, visit www.asthma.org.uk/inhalersconsultation
