Nursing inputs to special schools in N. Ireland

Children attending special schools often have healthcare needs that require ongoing medical and nursing care. Two postal surveys were undertaken of 47 special schools in N. Ireland to determine the type of contact they had wi th nurses and the functions they fulfilled. Responses were received from 42 school principals and from the 11 Health and Social Service Trusts respons ible for nursing services. It was found that nurses were based in nine of 4 2 schools while the remaining schools depended on a range of different visi ting nurses. The nurses were involved in 'hands-on' tasks as well as giving advice and training to school personnel. Further research needs to define more closely the nursing needs of these pupils as well as evaluating the di fferential benefits of various nursing services to schools and how their in puts can be coordinated with those of other health professionals. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.