Accident at nursery

[5SleepingLions]

Not really an Aibu more wwyd
On Thursday I went to pick up my Dd from nursery and when I arrived I was rushed through the main entrance to find my 4 year old in and out of unconsciousness.
I was told that she had fallen whilst playing in the playground and was found on her hands and knees but was sobbing.

They took here into the class and sat her on a chair and left her they then told her to go and play with her friends but she continued to cry.
Another teacher came into the room and later said to me we told her to get her coat but when she stood up she was stumbling and she also saw her eyes rolling in her head.
They didn’t call me so I didn’t know and the accident happened at least 40 minutes before I arrived and an ambulance wasn’t called for another 10 minutes even though she was unresponsive.
Nobody can tell me what happened except that a 4 year old has said she tripped up.
My Dd doesn’t remember anything.
When she woke up she had stopped talking but thankfully she started again in the evening.
She was in intensive care over night but has been on a children’s ward ever since
we are still waiting for tests as she has only a small bruise on her leg and no bumps on her head.
It’s a small nursery in the morning no more than 18-20 children ages from 2-4.
To begin with I was grateful to the teachers for helping they came to the hospital with us.
But now I’m just angry that no one saw anything except a 4year old and the way they had just left her.

That's so terrible OP - you must be at your wits end - they should have called an ambulance straight away ... you need to wipe the floor with them - no way should she have been left in that state for that long ... I hope she makes a quick recovery

I don't think the problem is that the staff didn't witness the fall and can't explain how it happened. I wouldn't expect them to witness every child's every move.

I would however expect them to deal with symptoms like stumbling and eyes rolling properly and swiftly. An ambulance should've been called much quicker.

How frightening for you all

When you have the time the nursery should be sitting down with you to have a formal meeting to hear how they’re investigating what happened and their current procedures.

Sounds to me like it would be prudent to have cctv covering the outside play area. I appreciate they can’t have eyes in the back of their heads but given the environment is prone to injuries they need to be able to go back and see what happens.

I’ve spoken to my partner today and we have decided that we are going to take this further as we are not happy
Not with not seeing it as we understand you can’t see everything
We have 5 children and we understand that
It’s how the staff acted afterwards
Thanks vicarious for Pm me

^^ I am Irishgal21 but was Pming you about vicarious Liability lol

Glad to hear you will take it further. Yes, from what you said it sounds like they employ young people who don't have experience of accidents and they defo need to be investigated and questions need to be answered.

Have they ruled out a fit?

It sounds more like she's had some sort of seizure if there's no bump to the head.

Honestly it sounds more like this

www.heartrhythmalliance.org/stars/uk/reflex-anoxic-seizures-ras

Which is frightening when it happens but not dangerous.
The nursery IMO only did wrong in not calling an ambulance sooner and leaving her unattended. But to be fair the fall sounded pretty par for the course for the average 4 year old and she was found on her hands and knees again a not unusual thing in preschool. Most falls like that would be uneventful. It’s unfortunate this hasn’t been the case. But what are you trying to achieve in taking this further?

I'm thinking something made her fall, rather than the fall itself.

I'm sure the hospital will be going to do the necessary tests, hope you get answers soon.

I do think they acted terribly afterwards and actually potentially dangerously so.

Isadora
I was thinking the same thing
It does sound like anoxic shock

Yup and it’s good they’re doing tests but they probably won’t find anything. It’s scary when it happens but if you know to expect it in future that helps a lot. A good few members of My family has it...

Poor baby. I hope she's ok and you are too. Keep her at home for a week or so. I hope the hospital can help.

I was a cub leader for many years and then a cadet instructor, and obviously we had many bumps and scrapes. At no point would I have left a distressed child on their own. One incident was when an eight year old fell when mucking around - I actually heard his head thump off the wooden floor. He appeared to be completely uninjured but I called his mother immediately to meet us at A&E while another leader took charge of the meeting. Luckily, he was fine but you just don't take chances.

I can't believe the lack of aftercare in this case, not even comforting and watching over a distressed child. For the ambulance not to have been called for so long even after you had arrived is utterly appalling.

To be honest in a small setting with 2-4 year olds I would expect staff to be monitoring more closely.

However the main issue is that your dd was left, in distress and after an accident they had not witnessed and the poor way things were dealt with consequently.

I would imagine the EEG will be to look at the possibilty of seizure activity which could have been the cause of the fall.

I hope you get some answers soon and your dd is ok.

How worrying. Hope dd is ok

Yes children fall over bump etc but someone should have been watching and said what happened. Even if they couldn’t have stopped it

Leaving a distressed child alone after an accident is neglect

They should have called you and an ambulance at first sign of concusion

I think the not noticing thing I can understand it’s the not being able to tell the hospital exactly what has happened that gets me

Not sure how you think anyone could tell the hospital exactly what happened if they didn't see it though. It is not unreasonable that no-one saw her fall - in those 2 seconds they could have been tying someone else's shoelace or anything. That isn't the issue. The issue is the poor care afterwards.
However, if there is no sign of a bump and the hospital are still monitoring and scanning her, etc., it would appear they are looking to rule out any kind of seizure or worse. Whilst that is incredibly scary for a parent to hear, seizures for different reasons are not that uncommon in small children. Take care of yourselves.

She should have been responded to more quickly. Has it occurred to you that this might of happened due to something going on with her, rather than as a result of an accident? Not excusing nursery response in anyway. I'm so pleased you are in the right place to get this checked.

Hope she's ok.

Pretty bad not to have called you.

He appeared to be completely uninjured but I called his mother immediately to meet us at A&E while another leader took charge of the meeting. Luckily, he was fine but you just don't take chances.

A complete over reaction and a waste of A&E resources. A kid fell and bumped head on wooden floor. It made a loud bang. Yes it would. With no swelling, excessive bleeding or loss of consciousness I really cannot see why a decision was made to take him to A&E?

I think effective First Aid Training is hugely lacking in places who care for children.

First Aid Training is a legal requirement for childcare settings - ALL staff need to have a current First Aid Paediatric certificate which is updated every 3 years: this is why what the Nursery did is so shocking.

@Noobcrumble
That’s not right
The law states that one member of staff has to have paediatric first aid
Obviously it’s good practice for everyone to have but it’s not a legal requirement

insancerre fair enough but I used to work at a Nursery and it would be poor practice for any staff member not to - not that this changes how badly this particular Nursery acted

Agree. Not possible to have eyes on all kids 100% but there was a clear and obvious issue suggesting a head injury that they did not deal with in a timely or reasonable manner. Shocking! I would definitely deal with this being the area within which they have been negligent rather than the accident itself

Having recently had first aid training, they did not follow the correct procedure and although it's forgivable that the accident may not have been seen, they did not take steps to ensure your daughter's safety and well being afterwards. You are right to take this further, it's completely unacceptable.
I hope your daughter is better soon.