A headteacher has apologised after 14 children were taken to hospital after being pricked by a needle from a diabetes testing kit at their school in Wales.
Caroline May, the headteacher at St Joseph’s Junior School in Port Talbot, Wales said staff were now “reviewing procedures” about storing medical equipment.
According to a parent of one of the children at the school, the diabetes kit had not been returned to its safe place of storage and was removed from a teacher’s desk.
It is believed that the needle prick the children experienced was from a blood glucose testing lancet and not from an injection.
The group of pupils were taken to Neath Port Talbot hospital by teaching staff last week and were then moved to Morriston Hospital where doctors saw each child and offered them appropriate advice and treatment.
Mrs May said: “The school would again like to express its sincere apologies to all pupils involved.
“All 14 pupils involved have been assessed by medical professionals and we have had reassurances that there is no further cause for concern. The incident was not solely the actions of one pupil, but involved a group of friends.
“The school has since met with the parents of these pupils to discuss the issue and is reviewing its procedures around pupils who need to self-medicate to mitigate any future risks of such an incident reoccurring.”
This is an extremely unfortunate incident which, whilst thankfully rare, was entirely preventable. It is unclear how the children gained access to the testing kit, but diabetes equipment such as a testing kit is not to be played with and, if lost, should be returned as appropriate to the owner.
Earlier this year a toddler was pricked by a lancet from a diabetes testing kit in a Wetherspoon pub.
