Baby burned by hot bleach at nursery
A BABY suffered agonising injuries after being burned by scalding bleach while at a nursery.
Blake Nilssen suffered second-degree burns after toppling into an unattended cleaning bucket at the Little Dreams Nursery in Aberdeen.
The ten-month-old was left screaming in agony for an hour after staff did not call an ambulance and waited for his parents to collect him instead.
His suffering worsened when staff covered him in paper towels, which tore off blisters that had begun to form when they were removed.
His mother, Ellie Johnson, 27, described the ‘chilling’ moment she heard her son’s screams following the incident in the nursery’s ‘baby room’ on November 4.
She 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 Care Inspectorate has since upheld complaints against the nursery and ordered bosses to make immediate changes.
The family is also considering legal action.
Miss Johnson said: ‘Blake faces being scarred for life and now we have a constant fear of knowing who to trust to take care of our son in the future. Little Dreams Nursery should be closed.’ Miss
Johnson, who runs a beauty business, said of staff: ‘There was no urgency in their voice and they didn’t say the water was boiling.’
She and her partner Daryl Nilssen, 31, only realised the situation on arriving at the nursery.
Miss Johnson said: ‘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. Blake screamed so hard he lost consciousness a few times.
‘Why was a bucket with boiling bleach left in a baby room?’
Offshore worker Mr Nilssen added: ‘The whole situation should never have happened.’
Blake was treated at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where he was put under general anaesthetic for a ‘skin scrub’. He then received six layers of bandages.
The couple made ten complaints to the Care Inspectorate.
The investigators’ report said: ‘Staff should have contacted the emergency services, immediately.’
A nursery spokesman said: ‘We reported the incident to the Care Inspectorate and worked with them to put in place new training and operational practices.’