Baby taken away by social services whilst in A&E

[napol]

Hi

I'm new to Mumsnet but am in desperate need of help/advice or better still has anyone out there been in the same situation as me.

I dropped my 10 month old boy at nursery one morning at 8am. He was his normal self - happy chappy with no injuries. I got a call from the nursery at 4.30pm from the manager saying despite no accident happening at nursery throughout the day he had developed a lump on the side of his head but not to worry as he was in no pain or discomfort but best I get it checked out.

we picked him up and took him to a&e immediately where to our horror he was diagnosed with a fractured skull. because the injury was unexplained social services and police were called and the decision was made not to let us take our baby boy home. We are now under investigation and cannot see him unless supervised. it looks like it will go to court months down the line.

We are innocent of any neglect or wrong doing and it seems to us the nursery are obviously to blame. Understandably we are devastated and heartbroken and just want our boy home

Op when I say check the accident book I mean if any other children have had a number of injuries. I mean are accidents common in this nursery for all children not just yours

When did this happen OP and what order is your baby currently under? What communication / meetings have you had with SS?

That’s horrible. I really hope that he comes home soon.

In response to other posters, fractures can be very easy to miss. I had a fractured bone as a child, it happened at school. The only reason my teacher was aware was because I didn’t want do PE as a result of the injury, no one suspected it was anything requiring medical attention until that evening which bruising and swelling appeared. I wasn’t in pain, more discomfort, I didn’t cry etc. My eldest child also fractured a bone, again there was nothing to suggest that it was anything beyond a nasty bump - she didn’t really cry that much, she was moving around like nothing happened the next day etc. If OPs child is similar to myself and my child then there’s a good chance he gave himself a good whack on the head somewhere and carried on as normal and no one knew.

Sorry to ask this @napol but has your partner been alone with him for more than 30 seconds at all?

Former A&E here. Std practice. It actually takes a fair whack to fracture the skull so someone should know how it happened, if not they can’t send a child back to a potentially abusive situation. Sure, it may have happened at nursery. It may also have happened at home but without this being ascertained the child can’t be in either environment.

This is horrendous. Something must have happened at nursery.

6 days ago - hes with aunty and uncle for now but they cannot look after him indefinitely

Nursery say he had no accidents whilst there

Well they would wouldn’t they.

If it happened 6 days ago then it's likely he's under an emergency protection order, is this correct?

my partner is in no why to blame we both worship our little boy and he would never hurt him

The biggest question I'd want answered is how long bumps appear after a skull fracture happens.
He was in care of others for 8.5 hours without you present before they contacted you.

This is awful. Are they just investigating the nursery? Surely the fact the lump appeared over the course of the day suggests it happens in their care after his arrival?

but if it cannot be proven anyone is responsible what happens the?

nursery is under investigation too

Are Social Care investigating the Nursery ?

Giving you a hand.hold,.OP.

Hoping surely that fact, that they can't know for sure would see a nursery close down? dozens of dc will still be in that same environment with those same people.

I feel for you op, this is every parents nightmare.

@itsgettingweird that is precisely what we want to know, getting medical results tomorrow

Sorry, just seen that the Nursery is under investigation too. Well the truth will come out if they are covering up.

when did nursery notice bump? did they put in in their incident book & did they have someone else sign that they did - ie even if accident doesn't occur at a setting THEY MUST RECORD IT. where was the bump? Could another dc have hit them (it happens) or the dc have caught their head on a door/cupboard corner? I would check their records on OFSTED - ie where they marked down for not keeping records. However - even at 10months if he can walk round furniture or crawl or sit up by himself - you only have to take your eyes of dc for one second... but after 4pm in a day to develop a bump????

the nursery does have a great reputation, if it was an accident why not hold their hands up

In the nicest way Op, either get a decent solicitor or your going to have to be your own boss. Ask all these questions, challenge what other people have said, ask to see reports of accidents within the nursery, ask the doctors all the questions you need answering such as,

How long for the bump to appear after the fracture?
Does the nursery have CCTV?
Ofsted reports/safeguarding etc.

I wish you well

Because my guess is it was done out of site by some underpaid, overworked nurses worker who didn't want to admit fault and so comforted him, he calmed down and they thought it was all water under the bridge.

@HoppingPavlova how long would swelling take to appear after a blow to the head?