Doctors and School Nurses

Doctors have strict rules about keeping everything you tell them private. The only time that Doctors are allowed to talk about you to someone else without your permission, is if they feel that you are in danger and they can only keep you safe by getting help from a social worker, the police or a hospital. If you go to your Doctor to get advice or a medicine, your Doctor is not allowed to tell your parents unless he or she has a good reason to believe that you are too young to understand the info they tell you without your parents’ help. Doctors usually assume you are old enough to understand once you are 12 years old.

NHS Direct (NHS 24 in Scotland) is a 24 hour telephone health advice and information service.  You don’t have to give them your name so it is a confidential service. It has both a nurse advice service, for if you or the person you care for are unwell, and a health information section, if you are looking for more information about a health matter or local health services. 

NHS Direct on 0845 46 47; www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

NHS24 on 08454 24 24 24; www.nhs24.co.uk is available in some areas in Scotland and will be rolled out to cover the whole of the country  by December 2004  School Nurses who visit your school usually have the same rules as Doctors, but it’s a good idea to ask them what they can keep private and what they can’t. School First Aiders and Matrons who work at the school all the time usually have the same rules as teachers but should keep what you tell them as private as they can.