A qualified helper could be a variety of individuals, such as a parent, educator, caregiver, teacher, or friend. Nursing tasks can take place in various settings, such as schools, daycares, day centers, and facilities for individuals with disabilities, but not in care establishments.
A scout leader may assist a child with repositioning their gastric tube or administering injections to a child with a motor disability during a holiday camp. Unfortunately, diabetic children are frequently absent due to the difficulty of finding nurses to provide insulin injections.
The Diabetes Association sees the creation of a legal framework as a necessity. Valérie Heuvelmans, a nurse at the Diabetes Association, explains that these children simply want to do the same activities as their friends without complications.
Caroline Legrand, coordinator of the ASBL Jeunes Aidants Proches, believes that supporting carers to complete these tasks safely is a positive aspect of the framework. However, she and her colleague Laura Danloy have reservations and believe that social security and home help should be strengthened to aid families who regularly provide care. Informal caregivers must not become even more vulnerable.
The qualified helper could be a parent, an educator, a caregiver, a teacher, or even a friend. Nursing acts may thus take place in a school, a crèche, a day center, an institution for the disabled, but not in a care establishment.
During a holiday camp, a scout leader can therefore help a child reposition his gastric tube or give injections to a child with a motor disability.
Diabetic children are too often absent due to the difficulty of finding nurses to administer insulin injections
For the Diabetes Association, the creation of this legal framework was a necessity. “For example, during extracurricular activities such as outdoor classes, diabetic children are still too often absent because of the difficulty of finding nurses available to administer insulin injections”.
“These children dream of simply being like their friends, of being able to do the same activities, without complications” explains Valérie Heuvelmans, nurse at the Diabetes Association.
“It is positive that this framework makes it possible to support carers to enable them to carry out these acts in complete safety” explains Caroline Legrand, coordinator of the ASBL Jeunes Aidants Proches.
Nevertheless, Caroline Legrand and her colleague Laura Danloy have certain reservations: “We must also strengthen social security and home help to support these families who have to provide recurrent care. We cannot always continue to send families responsibilities that are professional in nature. informal caregivers become even more vulnerable.”
In conclusion, the creation of a legal framework allowing qualified helpers to perform certain medical acts represents a significant step forward. It opens up new possibilities for children with chronic conditions to participate in extracurricular activities and enjoy a more fulfilling social life. However, it is important to recognize that this is not a complete solution to the challenges faced by families providing recurrent care to their loved ones. Strengthening social security and home help is essential to ensure that informal caregivers do not become even more vulnerable. Overall, this development represents progress, but we must remain vigilant in seeking further improvements to the care and support available to those living with chronic conditions.