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Original poster

Who was more in the wrong at work today

182 replies

Safarigiraffe · 13/02/2023 19:29

Work in a daycare nursery in Kitchen however today at work me/chef did not provide a no dairy child with a no dairy meal as we didn’t notice him on dietary (our mistake there & we admitted that as well) and at the handover no mention from the room members was made & dietary sheet was signed to say all was good and well (all children have tent cards with their dietary requirements on them). They gave the no dairy child a dairy meal and the child reacted with a rash. Parents of child informed they not too happy but said they will keep a look out for him however if parents complain this could go into an investigation with not only us but room members suspended. So who is more at fault - kitchen, room or both the same.

OP posts:
Original poster
Safarigiraffe · 13/02/2023 19:47

We (me/chef) did acknowledge we was in the wrong & we did check a few times on how the child was.

OP posts:
Ludo19 · 13/02/2023 19:48

All of you are to blame in all honesty.

He may only have developed a rash now but will no doubt suffer from a gastro problem as it goes through his system perhaps resulting in vomiting/diarrhoea/abdominal pain etc

You all need to take responsibility and ensure this NEVER happens again.

BakedTattie · 13/02/2023 19:52

Bloody hell.

You (all!) could have killed the child.

Kranke · 13/02/2023 19:52

It’s happened, there is no point asking who was ‘most’ to blame. There will be a review on procedures and everyone will be on full alert. Maybe make a suggestion that these procedures are reviewed regularly especially if there are new members and also those with more experience don’t become complacent. I work in a very H&S aware industry where it’s life and death and we have strict procedures, but of course there are sometimes mistakes. It’s good practice to review where things failed and to rectify them.

AnEpic · 13/02/2023 19:53

you’re being ridiculous for trying to decide who’s ‘more’ to blame, you all fucked up and could have killed a child

Hankunamatata · 13/02/2023 19:56

The kitchen are primarily to blame. However procedures must be very weak for checking as it should have been caught or staff are not following procedure

5128gap · 13/02/2023 19:57

Every person involved in the chain is responsible for doing their own checks. So the requirement should have been communicated clearly to you, you should have taken great care to fulfil it, and then checked, and the person handing out the meals should have performed a further check. Your managers should have set this up as a procedure and made sure you all understood.
You're lucky it's a rash and not a fatality.

Hankunamatata · 13/02/2023 19:57

Surely the parents should have been rung as soon as meal error was realised

FirstnameSuesecondnamePerb · 13/02/2023 19:57

But how? Mu youngest dd was in nursery more than10 years ago
They had a photo on the wall of each child with allergies.

Armychefbethebest · 13/02/2023 19:58

As a catering supervisor in a primary school I cannot stress the importance of having up to date Allergen information for all children and also communicating between staff that the meal provided is the meal given as it fits their dietary needs.The parents could really bite all staff on the arse here and rightly so.

Original poster
Safarigiraffe · 13/02/2023 20:01

Handover when done was signed on dietary sheet by room member who was going to serve the food to say that all was good and well it wasn’t until the child was given dairy food they realised and parents were informed as child had developed a rash

OP posts:
Original poster
Safarigiraffe · 13/02/2023 20:03

Safarigiraffe · 13/02/2023 20:01

Handover when done was signed on dietary sheet by room member who was going to serve the food to say that all was good and well it wasn’t until the child was given dairy food they realised and parents were informed as child had developed a rash

Child had already by the time they realised eaten all the dairy food

OP posts:
BTMadmummy · 13/02/2023 20:04

if the room were fully advised then I’d say them

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 13/02/2023 20:06

You're lucky that the child only developed a rash - giving a child the wrong meal could result in death.

I think you were all to blame, but this isn't about pointing fingers or covering your own backs. You need to work together to ensure that this kind of careless error can never be allowed to happen again. Next time, you might kill someone.

Original poster
Safarigiraffe · 13/02/2023 20:08

BTMadmummy · 13/02/2023 20:04

if the room were fully advised then I’d say them

There was 4 staff members in there not saying it’s all on them as blame is equally down to kitchen as well however if kitchen didn’t provide a no dairy meal then at handover we should have been told

OP posts:
Kentlassie · 13/02/2023 20:08

I would be fuming if I were the parents, and would be complaining to the highest level. You should be bloody grateful that the child just had a rash and didn’t die as a result of your incompetence. I would be trying urgently review procedures with the nursery staff tomorrow, to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Whyisitsososohard · 13/02/2023 20:08

Sounds like you are really focused on apportioning blame to the room staff. When really you should be focused on where the gaps are which allowed this to happen. Maybe you need to verbally sign off on allergy meals as well as the sheet?

Probablymagrat · 13/02/2023 20:08

If this was my child I would be raising a safeguarding and insisting that all the procedures are reviewed and changed to make sure this cannot happen again.

This is not about blame, and I would not be looking to have staff members punished, but to learn from this incident and improving the service.

The best way to respond to making a mistake, that could have had much worse outcomes than a rash, is for everyone to hold your hands up and engage with the investigation process.

Vitriolinsanity · 13/02/2023 20:09

I can tell you with absolute truth that our kitchen staff would have been mortified to have done this, and without being asked considered their procedures and tightened up.

The fact that more than one group were involved makes the issue worse, not better as there should have been fail safes in place and they didn't work.

I have a food allergy, and you wouldn't want to see the consequences of me eating something I mustn't. As an adult I can check and ask, a toddler relies on his carers.

Fact is a failure of care. Own it, mail it down. Never do it again.

Original poster
Safarigiraffe · 13/02/2023 20:10

Whyisitsososohard · 13/02/2023 20:08

Sounds like you are really focused on apportioning blame to the room staff. When really you should be focused on where the gaps are which allowed this to happen. Maybe you need to verbally sign off on allergy meals as well as the sheet?

As I said we in kitchen did admit we was in room however no room staff accepted any blame to it even though there was 4 members of staff there

OP posts:
saraclara · 13/02/2023 20:11

Safarigiraffe · 13/02/2023 19:47

We (me/chef) did acknowledge we was in the wrong & we did check a few times on how the child was.

My brother nearly died after being served a school lunch with cow's milk in, despite knowing that he was seriously allergic. By the time the ambulance came, he'd stopped breathing.
He was in hospital on oxygen for a week. Sixty years later and I still can't think of the person who served him that, without irrational hate.

You seem to think that you were making it right by asking how they were. That's not even close.

Marden11302 · 13/02/2023 20:11

From my experience of working in a nursery we send a dietary sheet of with a child’s dietary, when it’s meal time the chef will do a handover and go through all children on the list, explain they have got a different meal due to xyz ingredient. That is when it should have been picked up that that meal was missing and they needed a dairy free meal, as you as the chef know it contains diary.

ijustneedanamefgs · 13/02/2023 20:11

Who served the child the food? Did you actually give the child food with dairy or just forget to make them a non dairy plate. If it was the latter then this should have been picked up when the child was being served. The fact it was missed twice in this case is really awful.
Either way both yourselves and staff are to blame, how much so I’m not sure. It results in a poor sick child. I would also be fuming.

ZenNudist · 13/02/2023 20:11

My friends non dairy eating dc ended up hospitalised due to someone putting butter on potatoes despite my friend having tried to manage the special occasion family meal speaking to the restaurant staff and being really clear about allergies.

You need to be much more on it. Much more.

saraclara · 13/02/2023 20:13

So what are you going to do to make sure it doesn't happen again, OP?

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