RITALIN AT SCHOOLS: DOCTORS DEMAND UNIFORM APPROACH TO DISPENSING

Dispensing mood-modifying drugs to students with so-called attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) varies widely across NSW's schooling
systems.

Many private schools require trained nurses to administer drugs prescribed
for the disorder, but front-office staff in government schools - with
limited training - are responsible to ensure they are taken correctly.

Health Department figures released at the weekend show the use of Ritalin
and dexamphetamine for childhood ADHD has leapt ninefold over the past
decade. One in 36 boys in later primary school now takes the drug.

Typically, ADHD students receive a dose of Ritalin every four hours in a
normal school day.

Across Australia, more than 50 million stimulant tablets were dispensed in
1999, overwhelmingly to children and adolescents, according to the figures.

Yesterday, doctors sharply criticised the lack of a uniform system for
diagnosing and treating ADHD, saying the Health Department had largely
ignored National Health and Medical Research Council recommendations
published in 1997.

Dr Florence Levy, from the Sydney Children's Hospital, expressed concern at
the frequency of incorrect diagnosis.

"You tend to find children who need the medication are not getting it and
those who don't really need it at all are taking it," she said. "[Children]
are being diagnosed differently depending on where in the country they live."

Dr Paul Hutchins, head of the child development unit at The Children's
Hospital in Westmead, said: "We made these recommendations four years ago
and they have not been carried through by the Department of Health.

"Nobody argues about the fact that family doctors diagnose asthma and
diabetes the same way with each patient, so why can't they do it with ADHD?"

Professor Stephen Houghton, who specialises in attention and related
disorders at the University of Western Australia, said the lack of
uniformity was causing problems for many parents.

"By the time a child gets diagnosed with the disorder they have often been
to around 11 different places," he said.

The Health Department was unavailable for comment yesterday.

In NSW government schools, office staff are trained and paid extra to
dispense drugs.

The president of the NSW School Nurses Association, Ms Mary Short, said
most independent schools had individual policies about the dispensing of
prescription medicines.

The association represents 50 nurses who work mainly in private schools
across NSW.

"A basic requirement is that parents need to provide written permission and
supply the prescription medicine in its original container with a student's
name and the prescription dosage on the container," she said.