Pupils at a low-decile Wanganui school regularly receive public health nurse visits because of asthma, bronchitis, school sores, and high absenteeism, a local principal says.
Child welfare advocates are lauding a proposal for full-time nurses in every low-decile school to help treat vulnerable kids who are not receiving medical care at home. But critics are questioning the need for the service.
A nurse will be put in every low-decile primary and intermediate school if the Greens are elected to government, Greens co-leader Metiria Turei announced at the party's annual conference last week.
The plan - part of the party's child poverty strategy - would cost $30 million a year and would put public health nurses in every decile one-to-three primary and intermediate school nationwide, giving basic healthcare to 112,000 children.
Carlton School principal Paul Petersen said the school worked with the public heath nurse "and that service seems to adequately meet our needs".
The public health nurse visited the decile 2 school for three hours once a week, Mr Petersen said.
"The public health nurses also go into homes quite regularly, supporting families with high health needs."
Teaching parents how to dress wounds, following up on high absenteeism due to health issues and treating asthma, bronchitis and school sores are all covered by the nurse, he said.
According to the Greens, poverty, ill-health and educational under-achievement go hand in hand.
"Our policy takes the health care to where it is most needed and where it is most easily accessed - low-decile schools," Mrs Turei said.
The policy was one of the key recommendations by the New Zealand Nurses' Organisation in its submission to the Government's Green Paper on Vulnerable Children and was backed by teachers' unions.
However, Health Minister Tony Ryall said the policy already existed.
" We have public health nurses spending significant time in low decile primary schools around the country."
A spokeswoman for Mr Ryall's office said district health boards funded the equivalent of 280 full-time public health nurses to work in primaries and intermediates.
A focus on lower decile schools was emphasised, with more visiting hours available.
Social workers would also be in all 670 low-decile primary schools by the end of next term, Mr Ryall said.
"And we are rolling out extra nurses into decile-3 high schools."
An extra 47 nurses would complement the 135 nurses already in low-decile secondary schools, Mr Ryall said.
Mrs Turei said nurses already did a "fantastic" job in low-decile secondary schools and some primary schools, but schools should not have to use their operations grants to fund the service. The Greens' policy would require 280 new school nurses to care for children in the 650 schools not currently funded. The money would go towards nurses' salaries, and cover medical and administration costs. APNZ