The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Wednesday responded to a media report that the Ministry of Education (MOE) forbids school and university nurses from changing students’ dressings, saying that the information must have been misunderstood by the education ministry.
A report by the Chinese-language United Daily News said that according to the Physicians Act (醫師法), people without a doctor’s license are not allowed to administer medical treatments, so last year the education ministry interpreted the act — issued by the Department of Health six years ago — requesting that schools strictly conform to the regulation.
It said school nurses are not allowed to change wound dressings without a physician present or they might face three to five years in prison and a fine of up to NT$1.5 million (US$46,931).
The report said its survey showed that universities, including National Taiwan University, National Cheng Kung University and National Yang-Ming University, have stopped helping students to change dressings and that other schools are planning to implement the order this year.
Department of Medical Affairs Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said if students need wound treatment, school nurses are licensed and can treat wounds in accordance with the Emergency Medical Care Act (緊急醫療救護法).
If school nurses think a patient needs further medical treatment they can help the patient go to a hospital, he said.
Shih said the document sent to the education ministry in 2011 concerned nurses administering medication to students, as some parents requested that school nurses help children with diabetes take their insulin injections.
The document said that if the parents gave a doctor’s prescription and prescribed medication, school nurses were allowed to help, Shih said.
“As for not being allowed to change wound dressings, I think there might have been some misunderstanding,” he said, adding that the ministry will clarify the issue with the education ministry so that school nurses will not be confused.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
RSS