A baby suffered severe burns in a horror incident at his Aberdeen nursery – but staff failed to call 999.
One-year-old Blake Nilssen was trying to stand when he toppled an unattended cleaning bucket at the Little Dreams Nursery on the city’s Bon Accord Street.
Bleach spilled onto his left arm and both legs, causing second-degree burns.
His suffering worsened after staff covered him in paper towels which ripped off blisters when removed.
Staff did not call for an ambulance, and instead called Blake’s mum, Ellie Johnson, who had to take him to hospital herself.
The Care Inspectorate watchdog launched a probe into the affair.
It has now written a hard-hitting report criticising the nursery, which reads: “Staff should have contacted the emergency services, immediately.”
It was blatant negligence.”
Ellie Johnson, Blake’s mum
Ellie, 27, said her family is now considering legal action and issued an urgent warning to parents over fears of a repeat tragedy.
She added: “It was blatant negligence.”
A spokesman for the nursery said it is appealing the findings and added: “However, this appeals process does not detract from the focus we have at the nursery to ensure we are operating safely.”
Scalding hot water and bleach unattended at Aberdeen nursery
Blake had been attending the nursery since April three days per week at a cost of £52 per day.
Recalling the horrific events of the day of the incident – November 4 last year – Ellie said she dropped Blake off at 9.30am.
During the day, Blake, who was aged 10 months at the time, was in the nursery’s baby room, where staff had left a bucket containing scalding water and bleach unattended.
After the liquid poured over Blake, staff came to his aid – but did not treat him properly.
Staff used cold water instead of tepid water to soothe him, did not soothe him for long enough and then incorrectly applied paper towels.
They also applied cling film to Blake’s arms incorrectly.
Ellie got a call from a nursery worker at 3.45pm asking her to pick up Blake.
‘We heard the most horrific screaming’
Ellie said that during the call, the nursery worker told her that her son had “managed to tip a bucket of water on himself”.
“They said the water had a bit of bleach in it, but that was it.
“There was no urgency in their voice and they didn’t say the water was scalding.”
Ellie and partner Daryl Nilssen, a 31-year-old offshore worker, only realised things were serious when they reached the nursery.
There’s no words to describe the fear we felt at that moment.”
Ellie Johnson, Blake’s mum
Ellie added: “We opened the door and heard the most horrific screaming. It was chilling.
“Then we realised it came from our little boy.
“There’s no words to describe the fear we felt at that moment.”
The parents saw Blake in a room separate from the other children – he was stripped to his nappy and vest with his limbs covered in cling film and paper towels.
At this point Ellie and Daryl still had no idea of the extent of Blake’s trauma.
Ellie 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.
His burns needed six layers of bandages
“Blake screamed so hard he lost consciousness a few times on the way, literally passing out from the pain.”
At Aberdeen Royal Infirmary medics repeatedly rinsed Blake in a special shower room for 90 minutes and monitored the pH of his skin.
A plastic surgeon burst the blisters and treated them with aloe vera gel before bandaging affected areas.
Blake was also given small doses of morphine to ease the pain and help him sleep as he stayed at ARI for observation.
The next day, the tot was put under general anaesthetic for a “skin scrub” but his burns were dressed in six layers of bandages to aid healing and prevent infection.
Daryl said: “The whole situation was totally avoidable, should never have happened and cannot be allowed to happen again.
“Seeing your child in that kind of pain is something you’re never prepared for and it’s raised wider problems as we now worry about who we can trust next with our son.”
‘We still don’t have answers’
Ellie, who runs her own beauty business, said: “Blake faces being scarred for life and now we have a constant fear of not knowing who to trust to take care of our son in the future.
“Blake is now on the road to recovery but this road is a long one.
“His physical scars will likely be permanent – we just pray the mental ones won’t – so our focus now is making sure Blake is happy and healthy.
“But we still don’t have answers to the most obvious question – why was a bucket with scalding bleach left in a baby room?
“This is utterly indefensible.
“Daryl and I really debated about next steps but we felt a sense of duty to highlight what happened so parents and other nurseries can be more mindful.”
Aberdeen nursery staff ‘gave differing accounts of what happened’
The couple made 10 complaints to the Care Inspectorate, which launched an immediate investigation.
Six days after the incident, the watchdog sent inspectors to the nursery to speak with staff.
Investigators – who even gave prior warning of the visit – said staff gave “differing accounts of what happened” which also differed from the incident forms.
Inspectors upheld six of the family’s complaints.
The monitors described nursery supervision as “ineffective” and criticised the way they treated Blake’s injuries and failing to call an ambulance.
The report said: “Staff should have treated Blake’s injuries with tepid, not cold water, for at least 20 minutes and should never have covered his burns with wet paper towels.
“Thereafter, cling film should have been placed onto the affected area and not wrapped around.
“The provider, as a matter of urgency must ensure that staff receive high-quality first-aid training and assure themselves that all staff are able to effectively undertake emergency first aid.”
‘Staff should have contacted the emergency services’
It added: “It is our considered view that the inactions taken by the staff may have caused further complications to Blake’s injuries.
“Staff should have contacted the emergency services, immediately.
“They would have been able to give the right advice while awaiting an ambulance which would have minimised the pain and discomfort Blake must have been experiencing.”
The Care Inspectorate also raised concerns about staff not challenging decisions made by management.
The report added: “A qualified practitioner did not challenge the use of scalding water boiled from a kettle, and bleach in a bucket as dangerous, despite telling us that she thought it was.”
Allegations that the nursery’s staff did not inform Blake’s parents of the seriousness of his injuries and that staff did not always follow the service’s accident and incident procedures, were not upheld by the Care Inspectorate.
Two other complaints, related to nappy changing and nutrition, were also not upheld.
What happened to Blake is horrendous.”
Neil Davidson, partner at Digby Brown Solicitors in Aberdeen.
Eight requirements were ordered against the nursery including making sure staff are trained in first-aid and know emergency procedures.
Other requirements included awareness of whistleblowing policies and ongoing training of staff.
The Nilssens are being supported by Neil Davidson, partner at Digby Brown Solicitors in Aberdeen.
Mr Davidson said: “What happened to Blake is horrendous.
“The trauma he and his parents experienced will endure for a long time so I praise their courage in speaking out.
“As parents we place the highest trust in those who care for our children and the Care Inspectorate quite rightly demanded improvements at this nursery.
“We will do all we can to help this young family recover and move on following this awful incident.”
‘We take safety of children extremely seriously’
A Little Dreams Nursery spokesman said: “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 and while this was an isolated incident, we have fully investigated the causes.
“We reported the incident to the Care Inspectorate and worked with them to put in place new training and operational practices.
This was a distressing incident and our thoughts are with the child affected and their family.”
A Care Inspectorate spokeswoman
“We have been disappointed by some aspects of the reports from the Care Inspectorate and have appealed the findings, these discussions are still ongoing.
“However, this appeal process does not detract from the focus we have at the nursery to ensure we are operating safely.”
A Care Inspectorate spokeswoman said: “This was a distressing incident and our thoughts are with the child affected and their family.
“We have investigated and upheld a complaint in relation to this matter and the information is on our website.
“We have identified areas for improvement which we will monitor closely and follow up to check progress and ensure these are implemented.”
