Parents' Guide to Boarding

8 Looking after the health of the boarding community. + Health Centre and Matrons The Health Centre team works closely with boarding house matrons and they receive training in the administration of Homely Remedies. They may treat minor illnesses and can seek advice when needed. Matrons also take boys to the Minor Injuries Unit and hospital when necessary and play a key role in liaising between home and school on medical matters. Consent The medical form should be completed and returned prior to your son’s admission. The form requires parents to give consent for medical staff to administer medicines and first- aid treatment and give immunisations as recommended by the Department of Health. An annual Influenza vaccination is also recommended for boarders. The form also requires details of your son’s past medical history and is a record of allergies, immunisations and medications. It also requests permissions for some homely remedy medicines to be administered, such as Paracetamol or Ibuprofen. If given consent to do so on the medical form, housemasters act in loco-parentis and will, in the very rare situations when a parent cannot be contacted, give consent for emergency treatment, operations etc. Local Hospitals The Minor Injuries Unit is at Abingdon Hospital and the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre) are within easy access. Most private referrals are made to the Manor Hospital, Oxford. Holiday Treatment If your son requires treatment during the holidays in the UK you can register him as a ‘Temporary Resident’. If he has any operation, accident, severe illness or is given vaccinations during the holidays, please notify the Health Centre, in writing, on return to school. If your son returns with medication, please inform the Health Centre. In the event of him being ill your son will not able to stay in the Health Centre in the holiday, and you or his guardian should be prepared to collect him. The same applies at weekends for weekly boarders. Confidentiality Most medical matters do not need ‘strict confidentiality’ and it is often best that staff know what is happening. We encourage boys to discuss their medical care with their parents, although a patient’s expectation of confidentiality must be respected. Any child over 16 years old may give consent for their own treatment. If under 16, but considered mature enough, they can also give consent. All boys are entitled to the same level of medical confidentiality as anyone else. Medical computer record systems are separate and secure from the school system to ensure confidentiality.