serious (notifiable) injury - WWYD?

[zoebartlett]

Name changed to make myself less identifiable. I'm not going to name and shame. I'm also going to spare you the details of DD's injury. It was caused by falling against a piece of equipment at her private nursery, required surgery under general anaesthetic, and will require consultant follow-up in the future. It was a severe enough injury to leave staff in tears. The piece of equipment had a sharp edge and the staff removed it as soon as DD had gone to hospital.

What would you do? The injury has been reported to the HSE (as the nursery was required to do by law). I've drafted a letter to the Chief Exec of the chain of nurseries. The letter sets out the nursery's failure as we see it and asks for details of their policies and procedures and for an explanation of how unsafe equipment came to be installed. What else?

DD is happy there. The staff are lovely and she asks to go in. I don't want to move her, but I need her to be safe. Local environmental health office? I've checked the OFSTED site. The nursery say the injury has also been reported to OFSTED, but the site suggests that parents should deal with the nursery in the first instance and then report to OFSTED if they are unhappy with the response.

I'm floundering - so upset. Suggestions, wise people.

Oh my...that sounds awful...leaves DH cut toe requiring bandage at nursery today in the shade.
It sounds like you have done all you can really. I know that nurseris have a duty of care but if you look around the room you are in now you will no doubt see plenty of corners, edges and potential disaster zones for small children. I see them all the time in my own home but you can't pad or remove everything. I really feel for you though. It is a huge worry to leave your children with anyone else and the fact that she is so happy to go shows that generally they take very good care of her. I dread 'that' phone call where they have been hurt so you must have had an awful day. Hope you are ok.

of course I meant DD not DH...gosh..if it was DH it would have meant an air ambulance or something!

Thanks, Olipop. Still pretty shaken. DH is worse and (cliche alert) being man feels he should be DOING something. And being the people we are, the thing we do is write letters! So I'm trying to think of more letters we can write so we can both feel better. I just want to reassure myself that it's safe for her to go back because I'm sure that's the best thing. No idea how, though...

I don't think I'd be able to leave my children there after something like that happening. I'd would psychologically need a fresh start, because I'd just be too anxious.

I could see myself over-reacting every time they had some small bump or scrape in the future.

2cats, do you think? But think about the pain of settling in? And DD knows everyone there... And accidents happen... I think I'll be on tenterhooks for a while wherever she is, to be honest. Every time she moves a toy towards the injury I flinch.

bump

For me it would be a question of whether the accident was waiting to happen or whether it simply could not have been foreseen. The former then I would move as I'd consider that the nursery had failed in their duty of care towards my dd and failed to keep her safe. If the latter than I would keep dd there in the expectation that the accident could have happened at another nursery, not just this particular nursery.

Sounds very black and white and I know how hard it is to settle a child into a different environment when they have been so happy. However if it was the first scenario then I just wouldn't be able to trust the nursery and would worry all the time.

why did none of the staff think this equipment could be a danger?

was it a freak accident?

I do agree with you - I just wish I knew which scenario it was, MollieO. I can't decide if it was obviously a problem, or something that couldn't have been anticipated. It was a truly freak injury which I certainly could not have anticipated, but the edge was sharp (and shouldn't have been and needn't have been). It just doesn't seem to be a very black and white situation, somehow.

I think if you are otherwise very happy with the nursery then let her return.

I would speak to the nursery manager/person in charge and ask have they been proactive in ensuring there aren't any other pieces of equipment or similar that need removing.

Accidents do happen, what were the chances of her falling in such a way for that injury to actually happen?

Sorry x-posts, EldonAve. I just don't know! It didn't look dangerous. You would have had to run your fingers around it in a fairly specific way to find the sharp piece. But if it had been well-designed, the sharp edge would not have been there. It was an uncapped screw/nail/bolt/thing, btw.

And x-posts again! I think the chances of the injury given the sharp edge were very small. It was a freak injury. I think, Cargirl, I need to hear that there's been a fingertip search of other equipment to look for unnecessarily sharp edges. And, since it's a chain, I'd like to know that the other branches have been told about this piece of equipment (assuming they have it...). Still think it should have been better designed, but I have no real idea whether it could have been better designed before the injury happened, IYSWIM.

I think it all depends how you feel about the nursery.. do you think it was purely an accident that could have happened anywhere or do you feel that the nursery failed your dd?? Maybe see how you feel after the weekend and how the nursery responds.

Yeah, scrappy. I think I need to hear from them, don't I? A friend has taken their child in and raised it as an issue and been fed platitudes, but I don't really see what other response was possible under those circs.

The HSE report should be able to assess which one it was - unfortunate accident or accident waiting to happen. From what you say though it sounds as if no one at the nursery could have foreseen that an accident would have resulted.

If you do consider keeping her at the nursery then I agree with CarGirl that you'd want to ensure they have been proactive in their revised risk assessment. A freak accident can happen anywhere unfortunately so changing nursery wouldn't be the answer.

Very easy to sit here and type all this but if it happened to my ds I'd be in pieces. I hope your dd makes a full recovery.

Products are often recalled only after an incident has happened, I guess it's possibly the same sort of thing it wasn't an obvious/neglectful oversight IYSWIM.

I would be wanting the nursery and the chain to step up to the plate and get rid of the equipment and to do a thorough check for similar to be reassured that they take the incidence seriously.

If you were really happy with the nursery before that then that is a big positive, many nurseries have very young inexperienced, poorly paid staff and the children have key worker after key worker type of thing.

It's a toughie.

If there is going to be long term damage then presumably they have insurance you can claim on for further treatment for your dd (thinking cosmetically or minor disability or something) if this is the case please pursue it.

Tbh, the nursery seem to have done all that they are required to do, and have not shirked at doing so quickly. They made no attempt to cover up the incident or shift blame.

The fact that the staff were in tears, and truly upset about it weighs in their favour, imo.

I would wait and see how the nursery react.

It is difficult to judge without knowing what ahppened, and what the piece of equipment was. If you say that it was not immediately obvious that it could have been a danger, then I would assume that the staff had not noticed.

DD1 fell from a bike at nursery and had to be taken to hospital. I did send her back although with the benefit of hindsight I do feel a bit uneasy about the whole thing and do wish I'd taken her out. DD2 broke her arm at school and I was completely happy that the school had no responsibility for the accident.
I think you have to trust your instinct TBH.

Hi, my children have been fortunate enough to have escaped any form of injury at their nursery. I do feel though, that if something were to happen there then I would think it was just very bad luck, and a freak accident. That is because I trust them totally, my children are very happy there and we have a long relationship with them.

I think if you have previously had complete faith in the nursery, it does not have a record of accidents with other children, your daughter is happy there and you are satisified that they have thoroughly inspected other equipment then I would let her return. You are in a better position than if you have to look for somewhere new, settle her in, explaining the situation to them and no doubt asking them to check all their equipment.

I'm sure that if the nursery have been very reliable in the past, they will be giving your daughter 110% attention on her return.

If you feel that you have lost confidence in them and her accident was due to lack of care on their part, then that is a different story.

Yes I agree, trust your instinct here. My dd had an incident at nursery and I removed her and felt so much better for it. I wasn't convinced at the time but with hindsight, it was the right decision.

Go with your instinct here. Sounds like there's not much more you can do for the moment other than focus on dd. I hope she gets better soon.

Mollie, I don't know if no-one at nursery could have foreseen it - I certainly couldn't though. DH thinks it was more obviously dangerous, but I don't know how much that is the upset/shock talking.

Cargirl, we have all been very happy. She has had one key worker per room and thinks they're all fab. She was asking for the nursery manager while we were in A&E. I really want her to go back but she has to be safe.

Re the insurance... Any long-term damage is likely to be cosmetic, and it's not clear what the timescale for a repair might be. Would we need to register a potential claim with their insurers (if, for example, she needed more cosmetic repair work as she grows)? Does anyone know? I don't want to get all legal on their arses - I just wish I could turn back time.

You will need to speak to solicitor but remember you can deal with that side directly with head office and it is their insurance that pays out.

I think you have years to make a medical claim (3?) but I could be completely wrong???

Oh many x-posts. It does seem to hinge on our good relationship with nursery. The thing is, our good relationship is with the staff who actually care for the children - while the responsibility (if any) for the accident lies with the person who designed the equipment. It's just so hard to sort it all out, particularly because thinking about the damage makes me cry. As I said further up the thread, I think I'm going to find it hard to get back on an even keel wherever she goes, even if she were to stay home. I suppose that does mean that I really think it was a freak accident - I certainly think I would have allowed her to play with the equipment if we had seen it in a public park.

But then I suppose I trust that the equipment in public parks has been designed wwith safety in mind. Sigh... Why does no-one tell you how much parenting will make you cry?

I think, if I was happy that the nursery was taking the incident seriously and taking the appropriate steps to make sure it didn't happen again, then I'd be happy at sending my child back.

Put it this way, they're likely to be hyper-vigilent about equipment safety after this incident. In some ways it may be the safest place she could be.

What a horrid shock for you all though. I can see that it's not a straightforward decision.

good grief you must have been devastated,is she ok

what steps have they taken to ensure wont happen again

was it preventable

were the negligent

was it avoidable

if you do change nursery what is your alternative?how quick would another place be available

would you be happy to leave her there again.can you put this down as unfortunate accident

this is so damn hard,i can only hope all resolves well