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The 22-month-old boy, who was completely healthy before the accident, is now unable to speak, swallow normally or move his body.
A child care monitoring group is calling for tighter rules after a young Rotorua child has sustained brain damage after being choked with an apple in his small center. childhood.
Dr. Sarah Alexander, of the Child Forum Monitoring Group, explains that 22-month-old Neihana Renata suffered a hypoxic brain injury after being choked in an apple at Kindy's Little Lights in the suburb of Rotorua at Western Heights on the 31st. May 2016.
"The toddler now has hypoxic brain damage and severe cerebral palsy, unable to speak, swallow normally, or move his body," she said.
"Giving food, such as popcorn, nuts and raw apples, that young children can easily choke, goes against health advice in New Zealand and around the world. "
According to Alexander, Neihana was "normal for her age and had no health or disability issues" before the accident.
But after choking the apple, he was hospitalized for two months. Since then, he has been hospitalized several times because he is subject to pulmonary infections.
His mother, a fully qualified general practitioner, had to give up his job as a doctor to take care of him.
Neihana Renata before the accident. Source: ChildForum
The Ministry of Education did not ask the daycare if they had tried first aid
On its website, the center describes itself as "based on Christian values and beliefs".
It was purchased by Evolve Education Group, a company listed on the New Zealand stock market, in 2015.
Evolve has been contacted for a comment.
The Ministry of Education was informed of the accident the day it occurred, but it added that the Ministry had taken no action to suspend the center's license or downgrade your license.
"It seemed to treat the incident as an accident that could not have been avoided," she said.
"The ministry also did not question the first aid given to the child.For example, was he first asked to try to cough?
"Why were oral sweeps (blind) done and could it have contributed to the resulting injury?
"The ministry has no contact with the family, the family has not been informed of their right to complain, and the ministry's actions seem to be aimed at silencing the incident. "
Neihana Renata suffered hypoxic brain damage after being choked with an apple. Source: provided
"This terrible accident changed the life of this child and his family forever"
But the ministry's badistant secretary, Katrina Casey, said the case was already covered by ongoing guidance at early childhood centers.
"This terrible accident changed the life of this child and his family forever," she said.
"We know that young children are particularly susceptible to suffocating, even with foods that they have often eaten before or under surveillance, as was tragically the case here.
The WorkSafe NZ report states that the center followed the first aid and supervision guidelines, trained its staff and immediately called the emergency services.
"The center staff did everything to help this little boy."
Neihana Renata after being choked with an apple at Kindy's Little Lights in Rotorua. Source: provided
"Our existing guidelines for keeping children safe while eating are clear and fit for purpose"
"Following the WorkSafe NZ survey, we worked with WorkSafe NZ to review our guidelines and concluded that our existing guidelines for keeping children safe while eating were clear and fit for purpose.
"We have emphasized the more general importance of close supervision of children in our risk management guidelines, which we communicated to the sector through our newsletter. early learning in May 2017.
"Our ongoing recommendations for the ECE sector align with the Ministry of Health's recommendations for safe food preparation for young children.
"We continue to share information and advice to departments on best practices in education and care."
This story was originally published on the New Zealand Herald and is republished here with full permission.
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