Asbestos in our Schools

It may come as a shock to you to learn that most of the 24,000 schools in the UK have a significant amount of asbestos lurking within.

If asbestos is damaged or deteriorating then fibres can be released into the atmosphere and inhaled by those in close proximity.

Nearly half of the schools still in service were built in the post war years and during this time, asbestos was a widely used building material for insulations, ceilings, walls or out-buildings. This is due to the fact that it was widely available at the time and very cheap to use. This means that older schools especially have a large amount of asbestos particularly in the pipe lagging, boiler houses and ceilings.

You may have seen reports in the news about schools closing as a result of asbestos contamination. In January 2014, Holland House Infant School and Nursery in Sutton Coldfield found asbestos during work to repair the heating system during the Christmas. The school was therefore temporarily closed.

Parents and Teachers throughout England are concerned by the lack of government interest in this topic particularly when you contrast England to the Republic of Ireland, where all schools were surveyed for asbestos in the year 2000 and the government there committed to completely eradicating all asbestos with schools.

It is widely known that the period for developing an asbestos related disease can be anything up to 60 years and therefore, Parents argue that this problem is being swept under the carpet as the immediate dangers are not always evident.

The common perception is that asbestos usage tailed off after the 1960’s however, insurers Aviva have pointed out that the peak year of asbestos imports into the UK was 1973. They estimate that 6 million metric tones of asbestos has been imported into the UK, much of it is still in place in homes, schools, hospital and work places.

Many people are not able to identify asbestos as it comes in all different forms, for example, lagging, rope, ceiling tiles and floor tiles. It therefore can be difficult to identify, which is another concern among Parents and Teachers.

The question therefore is, who is going to protect our children?

The number of Clinical Negligence Claims rise.

What difference will the Temporary Urgent Care Unit make? The NHS in central Norfolk has been given £1.6m to assist with the rising demands during the winter. There is a temporary urgent care unit at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital being trialled for 3 months. Its purpose is to treat patients with minor illnesses who do not need to be seen by a Hospital Specialist. Patients will be treated by a community health & care staff.

Hopefully it will ease the burden upon the current A&E Department. If you are unfortunate enough to visit A&E, it normally means waiting for numerous hours before being seen. So in principle, the temporary urgent care unit could be a good way of ensuring patients are treated quickly and by the relevant specialist.

Patients with medical conditions who do not need to be seen by a Hospital Specialist will receive treatment at the temporary urgent care unit. There are plans for 3 consulting rooms to be staffed by GPs, Nurses and Therapists from the Norfolk Community Health & Care NHS Trust, Mental Health Nurses from Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and Social Workers from Norfolk County Council.

It is hoped that the right support will be in place for the patient to be treated before they can go home. This will ensure that the A&E Specialist can spend more time with patients who really need their care.

With limited resources straining the NHS and the number of Clinical Negligence Claims rising, the temporary urgent care unit could make a real difference to ensure that patients do not receive substandard care.

Look out for my update in relation to the pilot which is expected to end on 31 March 2014.