Safety probe at soft play after tot fall
Prohibition notice is served
An East Kilbride soft play at the centre of a safety probe has confirmed a tot fell 7ft from a platform before receiving hospital treatment.
Wee Play House at Greenhills Shopping Centre is under investigation by South Lanarkshire Council following the incident on February 1.
The EK News was told the child was rushed to Wishaw General Hospital at around 11am after claims he fell through an unsecure net.
And the centre, which only recently opened, was forced to shut down temporarily after being served with a prohibition notice on the use of the equipment pending a detailed inspection.
It has now emerged Environmental Health received additional complaints over safety at the centre.
In a post online, the business initially stated that there was a “minor incident” which led to the closure, adding that the wellbeing of youngsters remains their “top priority”, adding that the children’s indoor playground is now undergoing “upgrades and checks”.
However a family member of the child posted on social media refuting management’s claims describing the incident as “major”.
She said: “The paramedics, police and all the nurses and doctors told us that he was lucky to be alive as he fell backwards, landing on his head.”
Another angry customer has since posted online claiming that another child was injured earlier on January 28 at the Wee Play House.
The parent claimed a piece of soft play leading up to the slide fell through and their two children fell with it to the ground.
They stated that one of the children was unhurt but the other suffered bruising and a swollen foot as a result and shared pictures of the injuries on social media.
The parent said: “They taped off the section that they fell through but it remained open.
“We gave them the benefit of the doubt that this was a freak accident, we requested a copy of the accident form that we were told was completed and have been ignored for a week now.”
Disgruntled parents then claimed the Wee Play House was covering up the incidents by claiming the premises was undergoing maintenance work and editing their statement on social media.
A statement released from Wee Play House management last week stated: “We can confirm an ambulance was called on Thursday, February 1, after it was reported that a child fell from an approximate 7ft play platform. The little boy was taken to hospital as a precaution and to the best of our knowledge and based on feedback from the medical professionals who attended, he is well.
“Having liaised with the council, we took the decision to fully close the soft play. Since then, we have organised for the official UK body for examining, accrediting, and certificating inflatable, indoor and outdoor play to visit us and examine our equipment and will only reopen on their approval. During this time, we have also carried out some planned upgrades.
“We would like to underline that the safety of children is paramount to us. Incident forms are completed on site, and we take our responsibility to providing a safe, inclusive space extremely seriously.”
A spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Council, said: “After being made aware of the incident by Police Scotland, Environmental Health Officers visited the premises where an assessment of soft play equipment was carried out.
“This resulted in a prohibition notice being served on the use of the equipment pending a detailed inspection. This process is ongoing.
“The service has also been made aware of additional complaints, received after the initial notification from Police Scotland and these have been followed up.
“In the meantime, we continue to liaise with the business to ensure ongoing compliance with relevant health and safety legislation.”
Police Scotland were approached for comment.