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DD injured at nursery...what to do?

23 replies

Calico1 · 29/11/2010 22:23

Just wanted to get some more viewpoints on this before I take action. My DD (21 months) was served some scalding hot soup at nursery the other week and put her hand in it. She has a nasty burn to two fingers which required emergency hospital attention and she is still undergoing treatment every few days at the hospital as an outpatient. The nursery have expressed their concern and have verbally apologised. We have asked for a written statement of what happened and what steps they will take to ensure it doesn't happen again but have not received any response yet.
I don't know what to do in regard to any further action - I don't particularly want to take legal action or remove DD and DS from the nursery but I do feel that I need this serious incident to be properly acknowledged. I'd appreciate advice please!

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Calico1 · 30/11/2010 08:47

Anyone???

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thenightsky · 30/11/2010 08:50

I think you need to press them a little further for that written apology. Other than that, I don't see what else you can do if you are not planning on going down the legal route or pulling your DD out of that nursery.

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ChippingIn · 30/11/2010 08:51

Posting in WWYD is a bit like shouting into the void!

That is appalling!!

I am very much 'Oh don't worry they'll bounce' type of person who feels the odd bump, bang, bruise is part of nursery and wouldn't demand to know the ins & outs of all of them and I am OUTRAGED at this - what if she had spilled it down her front?

How the hell did it happen?

I would be making an appointment with the Manager and asking why this had not yet been done and I'd probably mention Ofsted once or twice!

Poor baby @(

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leafinthewind · 30/11/2010 08:51

My DD was badly injured (req'd the attentions of a plastic surgeon!) at nursery a couple of weeks ago. I didn't want to remove her either. So we wrote to, then met the boss - in our case the Chief Exec of the small chain. We also copied out letter to the local council environmental health department. They are responsible for health and safety in private nurseries. They have made a surprise inspection and will be making their own decision about prosecution (which makes me feel much better - I didn't want to sue either).

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leafinthewind · 30/11/2010 08:54

Incidentally, serious injuries should be RIDDOR reportable - that means the nursery should have reported to the HSE all by themselves. The HSE then tell the local council environmental health bods who are actually responsible for enforcement in this case. Serious injuries are also OFSTED reportable, but I know less about that. You should ask if the injury was reported to the HSE, I think.

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silverfrog · 30/11/2010 08:55

Dear God.

I am also very much in the "it'll be ok, bumps and bruises are part of life" camp, but this is far beyond that.

Bottom line is, this was entirely preventable, and, much as I don't like blame culture, someone IS to blame for this

No child should be served food so hot they could burn themselves - as another poster said, what would have happened if it had been spilt everywhere? and it realy isn' rocket science to check the temp of food served to babies. I am the most lax mother int he world, and was particularly clueless when it came to looking after a baby, but it's not hard to work out that tiny children are not the best judge of temerature

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Calico1 · 30/11/2010 09:13

Thanks for your thoughts....the nursery told me that they would report it to Ofsted themselves but I didn't know about HSE route - I will check. I will also see if I can get a copy of the Ofsted report. Apparently all the nursery nurses have been asked to provide witness statements but we've not been told about what they intend to do - I like they are worried that we will sue them...

Leaf hope your DD is recovering!

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Calico1 · 30/11/2010 09:14

I meant I think they are worried

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dinkystinky · 30/11/2010 09:15

Calico - am bumping the thread for you.

I agree with the others that a letter to the nursery (marked without prejudice) asking for a meeting with the head of the nursery/CEO of the chain to explain what happened and go through the procedures to ensure it doesnt happen again (and any other concerns you may have) is a good idea. It should be reported to the council and Ofsted and go on their report - check if the nursery has reported the incident and if not, why not.

Leaf - am so sorry for your DD - hope she's making a rapid recovery.

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leafinthewind · 30/11/2010 09:27

She IS making an excellent recovery - thanks for being so kind. She's got one consultant follow-up left to check the scar is not too tight, so fingers crossed we're at the end of the medical treatment now. I feel terrible that she'll be left with a scar, but I hope that it will become less noticeable as she grows. Calico - I hope your DD is taking it all in her stride too! It's awful to see them in pain.

I know what you mean, Calico - I liked that they were worried! It was annoying, though, because it meant that they were nervous of putting anything in writing. We got a much more satisfactory response in a meeting - and since I don't want to sue, the lack of a record wasn't such an issue for me. I do feel much better that the regulators are doing their thing... The council warned me that sometimes relationships break down when this kind of thing happens, but the nursery are being really professional so I hope DD'll be able to stay.

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thehairybabysmum · 30/11/2010 09:30

My DS had his fingertip trapped in a door at nursery when he was nearly 2 and needed to go to hospital as pad of finger was hanging off.

I am also fairly laid back and didnt consider it to be nursery's 'fault' as such. However the nursery were excellent in their response and how they dealt with the incident both on the day and afterwards with me. They apologised and also immediately installed hinge protectors on said door.

In your case i agree that they need to properly acknowledge the incident and its seriousness and also they need to take steps to ensure that this cannot happen again. As other posters say this is outrageous and could have been much worse.

Personally i would be contacting head of nursery or head of chain if it is one and making lots of noise.

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Calico1 · 30/11/2010 09:40

Leaf glad to hear that your DD is hopefully at the end of her treatment - poor love.

Yes, my issue is the lack of follow-up. Not even sure how they check food temperatures at nurseries. I stick my finger to test DC's dinners but I'm sure they don't do that! The nursery is a fanchise - so it is not clear where the responsibility lies - with the manager or the owner.

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Calico1 · 30/11/2010 09:42

sorry - typo city - franchise

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Calico1 · 30/11/2010 10:02

thehairybabysmum - ouch your poor DS!

J

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leafinthewind · 30/11/2010 10:03

I just chose to escalate to the top dog - but I can see how you might make a different choice. I wanted my complain to be a bit impersonal somehow - I wanted it to be about policy and procedure, not blame. That made me decide to write to the person ultimately responsible for policy and procedure - in this case it was the head of the chain, not the head of the nursery.

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mousymouse · 30/11/2010 10:06

They should have it in the accident book at nursery, you can ask them to get a copy of that.

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Calico1 · 30/11/2010 10:32

Yes, indeed - I don't want to drop the blame on the person who served her the hot soup. It is more about an appropriate response and review of their procedures. As many have said it could have been so much worse.....

mousy - I have a copy of the report in the incident book - but that is pretty minimal to be honest.

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thehairybabysmum · 30/11/2010 12:40

If it is a chain then i would escalate if the manager of your branch doesnt seem to be taking it seriously.

They clearly NEED a procedure or policy regarding the serving of hot food even if they hadn't felt this before.

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ChippingIn · 30/11/2010 16:53

Leaf - :( Poor little mite - what happened?

HairyBaby :( At least they have now put some protection in place!

Calico - I am still astounded that they served soup this hot to toddlers. Even without testing it with a food therm, it should have been perfectly bloody obvious it was was too hot! Thank god and all his friends she didn't spill it down her :(

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Calico1 · 30/11/2010 19:52

Quick update

Got a letter of apology today. Nursery have reported the incident to Ofsted and RIDDOR. The member of staff who served the hot soup has been signed off sick for three weeks apparently.....not sure what will happen when she returns. They have given me a statement of their H&S procedures and have assured me that they will ensure all staff are clear about adhering to them. At least they are taking it seriously now....

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dinkystinky · 30/11/2010 20:20

I'm glad they are taking it seriously Calico and that you finally got an apology...

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ChippingIn · 30/11/2010 23:17

That's really good.

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leafinthewind · 01/12/2010 11:18

Sounds much more like it.

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