Bundaberg mother’s shock at daughter’s childcare injury

When a Queensland mum picked up her little girl from daycare, she was horrified to find her crying and her mouth covered in blood, but what made her even more “furious” was the childcare centre’s response.

When 34-year-old mother Naaz Shereen Ali pulled up to the Frogtastic Childcare Centre in Avoca at 5:50pm on January 13 to pick her up her little girl, she was horrified to find her mouth covered in blood and her daughter crying.

In the arms of one of the centre’s childcare workers, Naaz found two-year-old Ruhee holding a blood soaked tissue to her mouth.

“I asked what had happened to her, and they told me she had a minor cut to her lip because a girl threw a ball at her face,” Naaz said.

“They did not call me and tell me when it happened.”

The mother of a two-year-old girl who suffered tooth damage at a childcare centre at Avoca says the centre failed to provide adequate first aid and did not notify her when the incident occurred.

When the mother-of-two couldn’t calm Ruhee down on the trip home, she knew something was wrong.

On closer inspection, she found one of Ruhee’s front teeth pushed back and the other tooth badly chipped.

“I rang the centre staff immediately and told them that my daughter’s teeth had been damaged and they said they were going home,” she said.

Naaz then drove to the childcare centre to speak to staff and request the owner’s phone number.

“They told me they couldn’t give me the owner’s number unless it was an emergency.”

Naaz took Ruhee straight to the Bundaberg Base Hospital where doctors put her under general anaesthetic to remove the tooth that was pushed back.

The mother of a two-year-old girl who suffered tooth damage at a childcare centre at Avoca says the centre failed to provide adequate first aid and did not notify her when the incident occurred.

“When they said they needed to put her to sleep I thought ‘what if something goes wrong?’” she said.

“Oh my god, my heart broke when they put my baby to sleep. I was crying.”

Ruhee eventually woke up after the surgery and was allowed to go home to rest.

“Doctors told me if my girl was not seen by the doctor on time, it could have been worse and infected.

“She’s on antibiotics, but she does complain about pain and the way her lips look in the mirror.”

Naaz and her husband went to the childcare centre the next day to ask what happened and were provided with an incident report confirming CCTV footage painted a different picture.

“They said (another little girl at the centre) picked up a hard blue balance board and hit her on the face,” she said.

The mother of a two-year-old girl who suffered tooth damage at a childcare centre at Avoca says the centre failed to provide adequate first aid and did not notify her when the incident occurred.

“They told me the staff didn’t see it happen. So then why tell me someone threw a ball?”

The Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority states that the approved provider of a centre-based service must ensure that at least one staff member or one nominated supervisor of the service holds a current approved first aid qualification.

It further adds that services must have staff with current approved qualifications on duty at all times and immediately available in an emergency.

Frogtastic Educational Kindergarten and Childcare Bundaberg told the NewsMail in a Facebook message that staff were adequately trained.

“As this is currently under investigation with the department I am unable to comment on the details to which we are being investigated,” they said.

“As for staff qualifications yes, both hold their diplomas, both hold current first aid, career and anaphylaxis certificates and have been training for years through first aid response. Both have more than 10 years in the industry. Management are working both with the family and the department at this stage.

“Parents were told that both staff did have first aid. All of our educators are required to hold this as a part of their employment.

“Both educators have been placed on notice and stood down from ALL senior supervisory positions until further notice.”

“We’re furious,” Naaz said.