Just received this fast ball from one of my junior schools to complete a risk assessment for a young lad who suffers from epilepsy - to include hazards and risks if he fits during a fire evacuation drill or indeed the real thing. There are so many ponderables that I am getting tied up in knots - e.g. he fits! the teacher escorting the class has to do something but what about the other 29 kids, what about the teachers own safety, what about the child who may have swallowed their tongue and could be dead once outside (the classroom is on the 3rd floor of a 4 story building). At the school concerned there are no safe refuges so I can't consider a "stay put policy" because the other kids have to be escorted out of the building by the class teacher. Have any of our forum users working with schools come across this situation before and if yes, a steer in the right direction would be very much appreciated. I suppose on reflection this situation could happen at any age in any workplace. Rich

Just to clarify, are they asking you to do a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) rather than a risk assessment? If it is a risk assessment they are after, I would suggest the starting point would be to determine how much of an additional "problem" the lad is compared to a "normal" pupil and consider things such as how often the lad suffers from fits in the usual course of the day, i.e. is it a daily occurrence, weekly, monthly?; is the stress of a fire drill likely to increase the risk of a fit?; etc etc If the likelihood of him fitting during a fire drill is remote, could your risk assessment justify not doing anything additional specific for this lad? If, however, his condition does pose a significant risk, then he would need a PEEP and you can think of things like does he have additional support in the classroom from a TA or similar who could be tasked with ensuring his safety in an evacuation?

Thanks to all of you who have responded so promptly it's much appreciated. Rich

In a real fire situation you would evacuate this boy without worrying about his condition - get him out alive then deal with any fits etc. Regarding a drill is it really worth all the effort and extra work just for a drill? Why not get his Carer to take him out before the drill starts so that he does not suffer all that stress?

I know you don't mean to make this boy a "PROBLEM" as opposed to "NORMAL" pupils but please be careful lin your wording. You could come a cropper under the Equality ACt?

Some assumptions being made about the level of the young fellas abilities! Having epilepsy does not mean that a person would have any other physical or intellectual impairments. As A Kurdziel mentioned, the type of epilepsy needs to be identified as seizures come in many shapes and forms. And trying to move someone who is having a tonic clonic seizure (the type normally associated with having a 'fit', with shaking etc) is extremely difficult, not to mention dangerous for both the person in seizure and the person doing the moving! Hence the need for a robust PEEP detailing his support requirements to guide those involved in any evac. Rich777 - someone having a seizure would not swallow their tongue; it might get seriously bitten, but not swallowed, as when they are in a seizure of this type, their muscles go rigid. The danger of breathing being restricted (the tongue relaxing and blocking the airway, much like someone does when they snore!) comes after the seizure has finished, and the person should be rolled onto their side to prevent this happening. Anyway, some good advice here - Steve's link in particular.

The original message could be deemed to be inferring that the boy has other problems or is a problem - thats not your intention so just appreciate what othr advice you are being given and move on. I had experience of a person taking a fit in a workplace and they did not disclose that they had a form of epilepsy. this person would occasional work at heights and around lifting equipment in an industrail setting. My point is you have a distinct advantage that you know that this kid has a potential problem. I stress potential as there's no guarantee that a fit will occur during an evacuation (so the teacher should have a fair idea of the likelyhood during an evacuation). Stay focussed on what you want to achieve and talk with the appropriate people who know the kid better than you. It a fairly straight forward assignment that doesnt need to be complicated so try to stick with that.

People here are only trying to help you - know one shouldn't take exception to advice once its given with good intentions. As a member you should acknowledge that as the norm.

Myles - it sound like you take exception to advice - you don't like to hear it and you don't want to accept it - its as simple as that in my humble opinion. Your reply to me had a lot of Sir's in it, and this to be was inappropriate and demonstrates some inmaturity on your behalf. There you go - lets see if you can resist the temptation to respond with garble

Guys....Guys...we have a burning building and a child has just had an Tonic-clonic seizure...can we move personalities out of the way and deal with that... If you need additional guidance on first aid for staff and the policy on when or when not to call for additional help this should be put together with specific input from the patients care giver. I have some briefing slides but the stuff on the epilepsy website is good.