JTA president wants nurses in every primary school
Published:Wednesday | November 20, 2019 | 12:21 AM
President of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association Owen Speid is insisting that primary schools need to be provided with school nurses.
“The dengue virus is spiralling out of control,” Speid told The Gleaner on Monday.
“Almost every day we are getting reports that children are going out with the dengue – whether they are dying or they are getting real sick. I think it is the right time for the Government to look at putting school nurses in, so that at least there is a medical person who can help to identify [symptoms],” he said.
It is suspected that some 80 persons have died of dengue since the start of the year.
Speid said young children attending the just over 700 primary schools are sometimes unable to express how they are feeling.
Currently, guidance counsellors or teachers provide basic first-aid assistance to students.