Drug Incident at Merkinch Primary School, Inverness

The Council can confirm an incident occurred at Merkinch Primary School on Friday afternoon when a seven-year-old pupil took ill in class and was taken to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.

Subsequent tests showed that the child had traces of methadone in his system. It is unclear how he obtained this. There is no suggestion that methadone was available in the boy’s own home.

While still absent from school, the Council is relieved that the boy is making a good recovery. The quick reactions of his class teacher have been praised by the Council.

The Council is working with the police and the health service to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. A joint Council, Health and Police investigation is underway.

A spokesman for the Council said that the head teacher of the 282-pupil school had advised parents of the incident and would be speaking to all pupils at morning assemblies tomorrow (Thursday) to highlight the “Keep Yourself  Safe” message. Pupils will be advised of the dangers of ingesting any substance that is not familiar to them and how to report any such concerns they may have.

A follow-up letter would be sent to parents advising them of the messages given to pupils and urging parents to be vigilant in ensuring pupils are not placed at unnecessary risk.

In Highland, during the last two months, all head teachers have been briefed in some detail on the issues that surround young people who may live or come in contact with drugs and who may be in drug using family situations. Head teachers knew to be vigilant in this respect.

The spokesman added:  “In common with the rest of Scotland, drugs must be an issue of concern for us in Highland. Drugs are a societal issue and our policy is to be up front when an incident occurs and reinforce the key messages in our communities. We must take the safety of our children as our paramount concern.”