Lives will be lost because of school nurse cuts, the GMB union has warned.
Figures show the number of nurses in schools fell 11 per cent to 420 from 2015 to 2018, while nurses working out of GP practices and community settings dived 20 per cent to 2,205.
Officials fear school support staff are now carrying out tasks such as injections without the adequate training or support.
A report earlier this month also said a lack of school nurses had resulted in signs of child abuse being missed.
The GMB said: “Children are not getting the medical support they need. Lives are at risk.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said local
authorities had this year been given “£3billion to spend on public health services, including the provision of school nurses”.
