Well you are, if you expect First Aid from a soft play centre!!!

[Lucyellensmum100]

If you take your child to a soft play centre, they have no legal obligation whatsoever to provide first aid if your child injures itself. This from the Environmental health and safety officer at my local council.

Thankfully though, most places would probably rush to assist you. I wont name names because that would be wrong but my child was injured in a soft play centre in Herne Bay and we were offered no assistance or first aid equipment, in terms of towels to stem blood flow etc, someone to calm me and my daughter down because i was quite frankly in an total panic. They couldnt even tell me where the local Minor injuries unit was.

I reported this to the local authorities and they have said that the only come back i have is to file a civil case, which i dont want to do, the accident wasn't their fault, but some concern would have been nice. They have upheld the complaint in terms of them sending feedback to the place but can take no action as they have acted within the law - surely this can't be right???

Apparently the responsibility lies with the parents! well yes, of course it does, but i don't carry a first aid box around with me - i had to go to the toilets to try and find something to stem the blood flow (my DD had bitten through her tongue) I amd incredulous that this is apparently OK.

I would hope their risk assessment shows that harm may occur and what they do to minimise that anyway.

FFS she could have bled to death!

hmmm.. now you need to get a grip!

Oh my, did you find the rest of her tongue

actually, employers don't have to provide first aiders for staff, just appointed persons who will deal with the accident but this is more around the paperwork rather than first aid

Sirzy, no they didn't - they don't have to, apparently you coudlnt make it up!

The thing is, whilst this seems to boil down to really shit customer service i ccan't complain to the owner because it was the owner (rude obnoxious pig) who treated us badly. Anyway, the H&S guy is going to contact them and i let them think i was going to go to the press and take civil action (im not) but let them stew on that for a bit. wankers

I'm sure it was very traumatic for you but this is the third thread you have started about this. I would imagine if it was a serious injury an ambulance would be called either by the staff or by you or someone in your party.

Yes they should offer more customer service, act concerned, offered some napkins etc but they don't have any obligation to offer first aid and they didn't. I'm not sure what you are hoping to achieve?

They were 'successful' Sirzy in that the insurance company paid out without accepting liability, it was cheaper for them.

It's nonsense like this that makes people scared to help and companies have policies not to.

you're being a tad dramatic now and still talking about customer service not first aid

I can understand people freaking out a little in such a situation. Tongues are very vascular and bleed a lot. Seeing so much blood can be extremely worrying/frightening. I've seen someone bite through a tongue and people were running about shrieking and talking about him bleeding to death.

Its funny isn't it, on my other thread, everyone was up in arms, telling me i should complain, and i did, and was incredulous that i was advised there was no duty of care. Silly me

OP what exactly do you think a first aider would have done in these circumstances? they can't stich you up on the spot!

it really wouldn't have made any difference, good customer service would have but a first aider wouldn't have been able to do much about it

That's awful sauvignon :( I agree especially since the chances of such action being successful are pretty minimum as long as the person acted with the best interests of the injured party.

I do wonder what posses someone to even consider suing someone who is trying to help them or even save their life

I didn't for one minute think she was going to bleed to death, but it clearly woudlnt have mattered to the play centre owner if he did, so long as he could finish his cup of tea. Im making the point that she could well have had an injury that was so severe and they would have had no responsibility to help.

I think you might want to stay on your other thread, where people are agreeable, y'know... :) xXx

Sauvingnon - i agree it i madness, people should not have to fear litigation for trying to help.

I did a paediatric first aid course ( for my own knowledge, am not a cm or anything). It was held in a soft play centre, and all their staff attended. The certificates are on the wall.

Why would i do that Punk, if people choose to be idiots on this thread........maybe im the idiot for being upset that my child was treated badly by people who had taken money from me to use their premises.

sauvignon just this week a doctor told me that a woman claimed £8000 from the hospital for a ruined holiday because she was too embarrased about a bruise on her leg to wear a swim suit, the bruise was obtained when they were SAVING HER LIFE when she had heart complications - no wonder noone wants to help

and people have sued over broken ribs when someone gave them CPR when they had DIED, and because of that person's help they lived but had to put up with a broken rib

Because you sound like you want everyone to agree with you, & if everyone on the other thread IS agreeing with you, it kinda stands to reason.... :) xXx

As far as I know their duty of care only goes as far as taking all reasonable measures to reduce the chance of accidents happening - hence the need for risk assessment. Yes they should have offered you some help purely as a good customer service measure and yes they should record it in the accident book to cover their own arses but as an experienced first aider all that could be done from a first aid pov is keeping people calm and arranging for you to go to a and e. first aiders aren't able to cure things on the spot!

No they don't they only have to provide first aid for their employees! But most places would help?

Sorry your daughter was injured x

A calm, sensible member of staff would have sufficed whether they were first wider or not. A first aides would have been better as they're perhaps more likely to be calm and reassuring. Know what they're talking about,masses blood loss, etc??

Dd cut her arm in centre parcs. A lovely first aides helped me with her. She was hysterical, I was fine as am medically trained. But I needed supplies. Plus I'm her mum so I was better comforting her while he sorted the cut out.

Bike, that is exactly what i would expect - most of the places we go to are very well run and i have seen them assisting when children hurt themselves, offering cold compresses etc, just showing concern and offering help. I think i was just unfortunate in going to one where the guy is clearly not interested in his customers beyond taking their money.

I think in the UK we have a 'Samaritan's Law' , that means people can not be prosecuted for trying to help injured people?