Broken leg at nursery - only reported internally?!!

[MummyNic]

Hi

My toddler broke his leg by falling off the bottom step of a climbing frame at nursery just 2 days before his 2nd birthday. Aside from the the inconvenience it caused there are many factors I am unhappy with.
The nursery played down the injury - said they thought he'd hurt his knee, couldn't put his leg down, but had tried to crawl to go & play... They suggested I might want to take him to the GP.
I had a nightmare journey to get to nursery and turned up 1 hr 20 mins from original phone call. Upon arrival J was cuddling his keyworker, crying. I took J and asked her if he'd been crying the whole time, she said 'on & off, yes'.
The manager came over while I held him and she said.. hmm looking at his leg I'd say it was his leg now...
I took him to A&E - broken leg...

I have become unhappy at a couple of other things the nursery (Outstanding in Ofsted report) have done lately and have registered him with another nursery - he starts in Feb.
I am going to write an almighty letter of complaint..
That aside.. They said a carer was right behind him as he climbed the step (which is 30cm off the ground!) and he 'fell badly' - if she really was behind him, how did he even fall?!!! A 1 year old (ok, almost 2) should have been helicoptered by the carer as he climbed (or am I overprotective?!!) - I really fail to see how this fall could have happened if she had been where she said she was.
My DH went to pick J up the other day - J was sat in a Cosy car, no socks on (he'd soiled his only pair - bad mummy for not have replenished his bag), in -2 temps, 2 older children were climbing the climbing frame - 2 staff in the garden, opposite side of where the frame is (and J at the time), talking.
Now I'm no dreamer, staff will stand together, staff will chat, but if one of those children had fallen what would they say?!!!
I also accept accidents happen..

Brief chat to Ofsted - Nurseries only have to report serious accidents if they (or ambulance) takes child to hospital.. If parent takes child then it's just reported within the nursery's own system!!! WTF?!! So I wonder now... Is that why they played the injury down? Took advantage of a non-talker (as such)?

I am FUMING!!! I am getting so worked up I can't sleep (hence the silly hour I'm writing this at!) and I'm starting to think some legal advice is in order..

Who can I report this incident to?!!

Spoke to RIDDOR today as nursery hq rang to ask for the medical term for James' injury.... Errrr.... Greenstick FRACTURE!!! Think they are trying to say that Greenstick means the bone is bent, not broken...errr... No... Children's bones bend when they are fractured... It is no less a fracture!!! I'd wet myself laughing if this was someone else!!
Soooo I rang RIDDOR and asked if they class Greenstick fractures as fractures!!! Woman saud yes and it is reportable as per their rules. She then told me I can report it myself!! So I did and made sure they know James wasn't being held when he fell and that he was (IMO) age inappropriate equipment!

Also rang the people who gave the nursery the contract to discuss my concerns and they hadn't been told either!! Not impressed!!! So not a single authority has been informed.... So what are they hiding?!!
Should explain that the building is provided byy employers and they give a contract to an outside company to run the nursery....

Goodness, they same extremely unprofessional!

Have you heard from Ofsted?

Nothing so far but I got the HQ man to read the report they finally sent them. whilst it doesn't lie.. It doesn't state the full facts. Namely the fact he was facing outwards and wasn't being held and the staff member looked away. They've simply said J was on bottom step, lost balance, fell. So they are being economical with the facts and so are unlikely to be investigated.
I will be submitting a complaint to Ofsted once I've finished the one to the nursery... I keep rewriting bits as I don't want to have anything in there that might jeopardise any possible legal action!
Nightmare!!!

If I were you I would copy the complaint to the nursery to Ofsted as well.
If this is the nursery I am thinking of I am very cross as it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. I have reported them to Ofsted for a similar issue in the past

Best of luck for the future and I hope that your little boy is recovering well

Just a thought. I understand you are upset about DS' accident and rightly so, but how do you know the worker wasn't properly supervising him at the climbing frame? I know she turned around but have you an idea why that might have been? She might have been dealing with a conflict between other children? Not trying to take away the lack of supervision, just trying to think of a reason why.

My DS fell off a slide at nursery when he was 2.5, he broke his arm. I found the reporting procedures to be terrible and I complained to Ofsted and other places but got nowhere, I too believe my DS hadn't been properly supervised on the slide, but my main concern was the lack of action on behalf of the nursery. Because DS had fallen 30 mins before the end of the session they just waited for me to come and get him, but telephoned the doctor's surgery to say I would be bringing him down. DS burst into tears when he saw me and I remember the nursery manager saying "he's only crying because he's seen you" she then went on to say she thought he'd bruised his arm. I looked at him and his arm was flapping about in the middle obviously broken. However, like a fool I still took him to the GP because they told me they'd made an appointment, this is where I think the reporting thing comes in, because I'd gone to A&E via the GP and not straight from nursery they weren't obligated to report it. (It's 5 years ago now so all hazy in my head).

My DS required an operation to pin his bones back into place and three days in hospital and we had to cancel our summer holiday as we'd been due to fly out that weekend. The nursery never once phoned up to enquire as to how he was and suffice to say I never sent him back. I'm still more upset about their lack of concern about DS after the accident rather than the accident itself.

Now five years later, I realise that accidents can happen, DS later went on to break his leg playing with me on the trampoline, a completely freak accident, but at the time I felt very upset as you do now. I hope you get somewhere with your complaints but mine all seemed to fall on deaf ears, however I did feel a hell of a lot better writing letters of complaint to every single regulatory body I could think of at the time.

Slattern... Manager told me that the person looked away. No problem with the act of head turning but they she should have hold of J as he was too high up for his age & height. I'm not unreasonable but would you leave a 1 year to stand up on an object 1 foot high without holding him? Would you let a 1 year old walk down your stairs without being physically helped? These are the questions I asked myself and that is why they are fully responsible.

Purple... Is it right on the south coast?

Chick. I broke my own leg on a trampoline when I was 13... I can hear the crack and feel the pain as if I did it at lunch time... J will never have one!!! Lol

mummynic i am so sorry to read your story. i have a very active 18 month old dd who is always in a scrape at the childminder. but every minor thing that happens to her is reported to me and written down, even things like scrape to hand and she is honest enough to say i have no idea how she go it and i appreciate her honesty as i know better than anyone what a fire cracker dd is and she is into everything and always in bumps etc at home. i guess the point im trying to make is if people were honest with you in the first place then you might have forgiven them as you felt you could trust them.
i always said to nursery nursing students "people will forgive alot if your honest with them and say sorry". what annoys me and im sure most people is lies. im behind you 100% and feel so sorry for you worrying and not sleeping. i should say i was a nursery nurse for years so i know only too well what goes on in SOME nurseries. im not saying all. just some. thats why i left. i didnt like what i saw or heard so in the end retrained.
people who get snappy with you about legal action can get as snappy as they like because at the end of the day your baby is the most precious thing and the most important thing to you and if your like me you would do anything to protect them, and some people either dont understand this or dont have children of their own. i must admit i didnt until i had dd.
i wish you the best of luck and get the closure you want and the answers your after. it takes time and huge energy to fight like your doing and most people would give up but dont give up. it will be worth it in the end. good luck and please let us know how your getting on. remember most people are 100% behind you. you go girl.

Thank you. That means a lot. I have spent hours and rewritten this letter 3 times. I am nearing the end at last!!

My main fight is to have the truth exposed to the legal authorities - exactly what they should have done. But not their 'economical with the truth' version - the actually scenario of how / why J was injured. If I do take legal action then it will be hard work. But I will try, my purpose is to make sure other children are safe guarded and this company knows that they aren't bigger than a parent when it comes to child safety!!

Best crack on - the letter fairies haven't visited so far so I guess it's down to me......

Yes, it is on the South Coast

Would you say its very exclusive due to it's location? Do you know me?!! Lol

Hi Mummynic,

just took the time to read this post-what a nightmare for you-

what i will say is definetly go the whole way and report them to the appropiate people, it can be very very time consuming (this is what puts alot of parents off doing this) but it is worth it when you know you have done the right thing.

Iam in Glasgow and am currently going through a court case with my DS previous nursery - i removed him from the nursery after only 6 months due to various issues that we had - an accident being one of them (being that it happened in a area that had previously been identified as a hazard yet nothing had been done about it). In Scotland its the Care Commission that deal with complaints about this sort of thing, and they investigated this nursery for around 4 months- and it was a long 4 months but so worth it.

This nursery also had "excellent" results in inspection reports- however , what i will say is- i have now learned that the inspections that are carried out for most private nurseries over here only last for around 4 hours- and there is no way that a 4 hour inspection involving a load of kids/staff/parents will show a true reflection. It NEEDS to be far longer 3 or 4 full days at the least and far more thorough.

I hope your LO is on the mend and hope you get your letter in and get to the bottom of it all. Good luck

agree about the inspection mummyweeangel - our last one the inspector was with us for 3 hours, from arriving, inspecting and giving feedback

Thank you. Letter is almost complete but having a night off from it.. The stress is getting to me a little and I need to gather my thoughts for the final few paragraphs. Doing my very best to keep it factual and not emotion driven. That's why it's taking so long as I just want to scream at them!!! You'd never believe how professional my job is!!! But when someone has hurt your baby and it could have avoided... Argh!!!! The anger is extreme!!
Got a copy of my report to RIDDOR today... Very very happy :-)
Bed time now... Fight resumes tomorrow evening... ;-)

Oh blimey- NO I don't know you!
At least I don't think I do....

It may of course just be coincidence that there are two nurseries in the same area this lax on H&S- sadly this is a distinct possibility.

If it is the one I have had issues with it's part of a big chain.
I was a member of staff there and left after so many children were put at risk. Can't say any more than that without making myself potentially identifiable...

Yeah.. Big chain... Small nursery, exclusive "protected" location... Wouldn't put you at risk by naming it ;-)

IM REALLY SORRY TO HERE ABOUT YOUR DS ITS SO FRUSTRATING WHEN YOU KNOW THAT THE NURSERY OUR TRYING TO COVER SOME THING UP MY DS BROKE HIS LEG AT NURSERY IN SEPT 2009 AT AROUND 11 O'CLOCK I RECIEVED A PHONE CALL FROM THE NURSERY TO INFORM ME THAT MY DS WHO WAS 23 MONTHS OLD AT THE TIME WOULDNT STOP CRYING I ASKED WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM AND WAS TOLD THAT HE'D BEEN PLAYING IN THE FRONT ROOM ON HIS OWN AND THAT NOBODY KNEW WHAT WAS WRONG BUT THEY FELT THAT I SHOULD GO AND GET HIM CHECKED OVER BY A DOCTOR. I PHONED MY SISTER WHO CAME AND COLLECTED ME FROM WORK IT TOOK ME APROXIMATLY 30 MINUTES TO GET FROM WORK TO THE NURSERY WHERE I FOUND WESLEY TO BE IN EXTREME DISTRESS I KNEW INSTANTLY THAT HE NEEDED SOME FORM OF PAIN RELIEF I PERSONALLY FELT THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE PHONED AN AMBULANCE . THE GIRLS FROM THE NURSERY HANDED ME AN ACCIDENT REPORT WHICH STATED THAT ?WESLEY WAS PLAYING IN THE FRONT ROOM,HE TRIPPED OVER AND FELL? THEY HAD APPLIED A COLD PACK TO FOOT AS IT HAD SWELLED SLIGHTLY THEY ALSO MADE A COMMENT THAT ?WESLEY IS IN DISTRESS WILL NOT BE SEPARATED FROM STAFF IS UNABLE TO STAND UP IS UNABLE TO PUT WEIGHT ON RIGHT LEG.WE DROVE MY DS TO HOSPITAL WHERE HE WAS EXAMINED BY NURSES WHO TOLD US THAT WESLEY MAY HAVE A TODDLERS FRACTURE MY SISTER THEN WENT TO THE NURSERY TO PICK UP MY DS BELONGINGS WHERE SHE TOLD THIS TO STAFF. WESLEY HAD AN XRAY WHICH SHOWED HE HAD A FRACTURED FEMUR HE SPENT 3 WEEKS IN HOSPITAL IN A SPLINT. WE TRIED TO GET IN CONTACT WITH THE OWNER OF THE NURSERY WHO WAS ON HOLIDAY AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT I SPOKE TO A MEMBER OF STAFF WHO TOLD ME THAT ANOTHER MEMBER OF STAFF HAD SEEN MY DS FALL SHE HAS SINCE INFORMED ME THAT IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE OTHER MEMBER OF STAFF TO HAVE SEEN MY DS FALL FROM THE POSITION SHE WAS IN. WE MADE A COMPLAINT AGAINST THE NURSERY TO OFSTED THEY SENT A LETTER TO THE NURSERY INSTRUCTING THAT THEY WOULD BE MAKING A VISIT. THE OWNER OF THE NURSERY SENT A LETTER BACK TO OFSTEAD STATING THAT THE PARENTS STATE THAT THE MEMBER OF STAFF SAID SHE DID NOT SEE THE INCIDENT- THAT IS NOT STRICTLY TRUE , WHAT THE MEMBER OF STAFF DID SAY WAS THAT THEY COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW HE HAD HURT HIMSELF FROM SUCH A SIMPLE FALL.THIS IS 1 OF MANY LIES IN THE LETTER TO OFSTED. WHILST WESLEY WAS IN HOSPITAL WE SPOKE TO HIS CONSULTANT WHO TOLD US THAT HE ONLY SEE'S ABOUT 10 OF THESE BREAKS A YEAR AND THAT HE'S NEVER KNOWN OF ONE TO HAVE BEEN DONE OFF THE FLOOR THAT THE LIKELYHOOD WAS PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. OFSTED ARE A WASTE OF SPACE WE'VE BEEN THROUGH 3 SOLICITORS SO FAR
AND THE LAST SOLICITOR TOLD US TO LOOK ON OUR HOUSE INSURANCE(OF ALL THINGS!!) TO SEE IF WE HAD LEGAL EXPENSES COVER AND WE'VE NOW FINALLY HAD HIS LETTER OF CLAIM SENT OFF JUST LAST WEEK. ON THE PLUS SIDE MY DS IS NOW WITH A WONDERFUL CHILD MINDER HE NOW GETS THE 1 TO 1 THAT HE DESERVES.