Parents outraged after baby burned with boiling bleach at Aberdeen nursery

The care inspectorate have ordered bosses at an Aberdeen nursery to make immediate changes after a baby in its care was left with second-degree burns

Author: Lewis MichiePublished 11th Jan 2022

An Aberdeen nursery has been slammed after a 10 month old baby was burned by boiling bleach whilst in its care.

Blake Nilssen toppled an unattended cleaning bucket at the Little Dreams Nursery last November.

Staff didn't call emergency services, instead waiting until the child's parents arrived, and supposedly worsened injuries by placing paper towels on them.

The care inspectorate have now upheld six of the ten complaints made against the business and ordered immediate changes.

We've contacted Little Dreams Nursery for comment.

Shaken mum Ellie 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. This is utterly indefensible.”

Ellie, who runs her own beauty business, dropped Blake off at 9.30am but at 3.45pm was told to collect her son as he “managed to tip a bucket of water on himself”.

The 27-year-old from Aberdeen said: “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 boiling.”

Ellie and partner Daryl Nilssen, a 31-year-old offshore worker, only realised things were serious on arrival at the nursery.

The mum continued: “We opened the door and heard the most horrific screaming.

“It was chilling. Then we realises 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.

The worried mum added: ““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 on the way, literally passing out from the pain.”

Blake then underwent treatment at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, including being rinsed in a special shower, and being wrapped in six layers of bandages.

Devastated father Daryl added: “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.”

Ellie concluded: “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 wont – 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 boiling bleach left in a baby room?

“This wasn’t an accident – it was blatant negligence"

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