Credit: Forsa The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has called out the teachers’ occupational health service Medmark for advising that teachers with underlying conditions return to schools as they re-open, describing the move as “grossly unfair”.
INTO has further called on the Government to intervene so that members can appeal against their Medmark decisions, and have the opinion of their treating doctor taken into account, rather than the Department simply adopting the view of the Department of Education’s health advisor.
In a press release issued this week, INTO said: “As our members return to the front lines this week, urgent and swift action from Government is now required to review existing public health guidance and ensure it remains fit for purpose.”
They also wrote to the Taoiseach, seeking clarity on the expert public health guidance in relation to primary and secondary schools.
They reminded the Taoiseach that 100 children have tested positive in the last fortnight, and as such it is vital that priority access be given to everyone in the education sector for the testing and tracing process.
“Priority access to testing must be made available to any asymptomatic teacher who requests it. This will help build confidence in the safety of schools as workplaces….prolonged absences from schools awaiting tests benefit no one.”