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12th Jan 2022

Nursery failed to call ambulance after bucket of bleach fell on baby

Kat O'Connor

“We heard the most horrific screaming”

A 10-month-old boy was burned by a bucket of water and bleach at his creche.

Blake Nilssen suffered second-degree burns. The young boy toppled on a cleaning bucket when he was trying to stand up.

Instead of phoning for an ambulance, the staff waited for an hour until his parents showed up.

This means Blake was left without medical attention for an hour even though he had been severely burned.

Staff also told his parents there was only a “tiny” bit of bleach in the bucket, but his mum said the water was boiling hot.

“There was no urgency in their voice and they didn’t say the water was boiling,” she said.

After Blake was burned, the staff placed him in cold water. They also covered his body in wet paper towels. The incident, which occurred in November, was investigated by The Care Inspectorate.

Staff have been told they should’ve covered the wounds in clingfilm and not paper towels. It is believed the paper towels caused blisters to come off little Blake’s skin.

“I screamed at the staff, grabbed Blake, and drove to A&E”

Speaking about the horrifying ideal, his mum Ellie Johnson said: “We opened the door and heard the most horrific screaming.

“It was chilling. Then we realised it came from our little boy. There are no words to describe the fear we felt at that moment.”

The mum said her son is recovering well, but he will likely have physical scars for the rest of his life.

She said the nursery should be closed down after what happened to her little boy.

“He was screaming, his skin was red all over and there was an overwhelming smell of bleach with liquid running down his legs and arms from burst blisters.

“I screamed at the staff, grabbed Blake, and drove to A&E.”

Speaking of the horrifying drive to the hospital, his mum recalled, “Blake screamed so hard he lost consciousness a few times on the way.”

He even passed out from the pain.

Little Dreams Nursery in Aberdeen apologised profusely to Blake and his family.

“This was a very serious incident which was clearly deeply distressing for the child involved and the family.”

“We take the safety of all the children in our care extremely seriously.”

It added, “We reported the incident to the Care Inspectorate and worked with them to put in place new training and operational practices.”

His parents are currently considering legal action.

The Care Inspectorate investigated the incident. They said additional training was needed.

It will also follow up on the creche. The creche is currently open, but it will be monitored closely, investigators stressed.

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