EpiPens are focus for Kerry
Raising awareness with film
A Stirling school pupil is leading moves to provide better training in schools for an emergency life– saving treatment.
Wallace High pupil, Kerry McLaughlin has called for better education on how to give emergency EpiPen treatment to sufferers of a potentially fatal allergic reaction.
The 16-year-old contacted Stirling MP Stephen Kerr for help to set up a project that would give better training in schools on how to use the life saving device.
High-risk patients having an allergic reaction usually carry out the injection themselves but sometimes they are incapable of doing that and the procedure has to be administered by someone nearby, perhaps a stranger.
Kerry approached Mr Kerr, who then got in touch with Stirling Council’s education department who met her to see how the message could be taken out into the community, starting in schools.
Kerry will now work with the council to produce a short film that can be shown in schools from January next year to educate Stirling students in what to do in case of an allergic emergency.
Kerry said: “The reason I wanted to do this is to raise awareness of something that is very close to me because of my mum having a severe allergy, which she would have to use an EpiPen if she were to have an allergic reaction.
“I believe it’s important for people to know what to do in a situation like this beside how to administer the EpiPen — it should be basic knowledge just like CPR, that everyone should know.
Mr Kerr added: “I’m pleased the education service has agreed to facilitate the film and I look forward to seeing how it will be used across our schools. I’m raising this issue in the House of Commons as I want to see this training as standard across the UK. This can be a life and death matter and we should all know how to administer an EpiPen.”