Ben Evans, Head of Windlesham House in West Sussex, on a life threatening incident that ended well – and why schools need to prioritise allergy preparedness
Last year, one of the teachers at Windlesham House School suffered a near-fatal allergic reaction to an unknown substance shortly after she arrived at school. Billie-Jo Button, who teaches maths at our prep school, began to feel unwell as soon as she arrived in school. She had felt lightheaded and not herself that morning. She later recalled that other members of staff were trying to have conversations with her and she couldn’t focus at all. She could, however, feel the lack of oxygen taking hold.
After the bell had rung, Billie-Jo noticed that her ears and nose were swelling. The swift response of our school’s medical team, led by our onsite nurse, Kate Hooper, alongside our Anaphylaxis Kitt from Kitt Medical, played a crucial role in managing a very frightening situation.
After the incident, Billie-Jo told me, “Our school nurse, Kate, said I really needed my EpiPen, but I only had one bag with me because I try to spread my pens out to cover all bases. I administered the pen while Kate was on the phone to the ambulance. After some time, I still wasn’t improving. I could hear my wheeze, and the ambulance was saying they couldn’t get to us for 20 minutes. That’s a long time in an allergy situation.”
“It’s hard to imagine what a worst-case scenario might look like unless you have been through it and witnessed it yourself”
At that point, Kate used a second adrenaline pen, which she got from the Anaphylaxis Kitt installed on the wall of the medical room and this managed to keep Billie-Jo stable until the ambulance arrived. Since the incident, I have been keen to highlight the scenario to other schools and to raise awareness of the importance of having a good supply of adrenalin pens in school in case of emergencies like this.
As schools we’re always aware that some children have allergies, they carry their adrenalin pens and we make sure our schools are nut-free, but it’s hard to imagine what a worst-case scenario might look like unless you have been through it and witnessed it yourself. It was very scary moment seeing someone fighting to breathe. In total, three adrenaline pens were administered to Billie-Jo, as well as the use of an automated external defibrillator, before she was taken to hospital. Thankfully, she has made a full recovery and is now back teaching in school again.
Billie-Jo praised Windlesham House for its quick reactions and for being equipped to deal with the situation. She added: “Some people don’t realise how serious these reactions can be. It’s also tough to drop into conversations without either underplaying it or making people scared. It’s not a choice for me, I have to be safe”.
If any positives have come out of this frightening situation, it is the need to highlight the importance of staff training around allergies and how vital it is to have access to a good supply of adrenalin pens in schools. All of our staff have been trained and understand how to administer the pens. I would urge all schools to do the same because you never know when such an incident will occur.
Windlesham House School windlesham.com
Further reading: A smart idea to help schools manage allergy incidents
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