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We had a ghastly accident. 3 children in loo just before lunch at end of hand washing. One became silly with a door, pushing it open repeatedly. Eventually child on loo lost patience and slammed door shut on finger of 3rd child who had put her hand by the hinge. The door is fairly solid and close fitting, loos up for an upgrade this year. The end of the child's finger was sliced off including most of nail, bone at finger end fractured. I was on PPA my team were magnificent. Swift to give first aid, alert parents, ambulance etc

 

Obviously we've now done a lot of soul searching. As well as all the usual nagging about good behaviour in loos, we have put a line on floor behind which children must queue, we have managed to get a guard put over the hinges. Doors have been like this for about 14 years, I've been there almost seven and never had a pinched finger...other things like children fooling around, someone's head bumped when another pushed a door in, children making taps squirt by putting hand under it - resulting in a dangerously slippery floor, one person who decided to climb up a water pipe to look over the loo door, children who love to lock them and crawl underneath, children who enjoy loo sharing etc etc etc..

 

Parents have said they respect me as a teacher, but mother has lost faith in us as a school and our ability to care for her child and wants to move her.

 

Mother also worried about impact on child's development. Accident happened to index finger on right hand, it will heal but will take time. May be deformed in some way and potentially have a loss of feeling through damage to nerves at the finger tip. Mother is keen to know if anyone has any advice on dealing with injuries to dominant hand.

 

Any help, advice etc would be gratefully received.

 

Still feeling really fraught about it, even though I feel it couldn't have been dealt with any better at the time. Just wish it could have been a pinch and black nail rather than something so dreadfully severe.

 

AOB

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Thank you Sue. The pain is getting better and the fracture should heal within 4 weeks according to the consultant. The mother's understandable nerves are another matter!

 

AOB

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Oh how awful!! Its a horrible, horrible feeling when a child in your care is injured but accidents do happen!! I am sure the parent will calm down given some time. Sorry I dont have any advice to give, except keep your chin up!

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How awful. Something similar happened at a nursery in a town near us. I don't remember the details but it involved a door and a child losing the end of a finger. Do you have to report it to Ofsted like nurseries do?

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Ouch.

 

I was witness to a similar accident in my mother's classroom as a teenager, when the wind blew the door shut and child lost her finger in a similar way---it must have been pretty freaky as it was the inside door, the outside doors to the classroom were sliding doors.

 

I dont know what my mum remembers of the outcome but I will ask, although no doubt consultant is better informed.

 

Unfortunately, these things happen and are traumatic when they do. Hope you all recover soon.

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Same thing happened to me in primary - child slammed toilet door shut and my thimb was in the way of the hinge. Still have a deformed nail and it doesn't grow properly. (Don't think getting it shut in a car door later helped.) It's one of my abiding memories from school, not because it was extremely painful but that I got to go in a teachers car to hospital!

 

Assuming you are a school the head should be responsible for dealing with the incident as they will have to ensure all the relevant accident reports are completed (schools don't report to ofsted) etc etc. I hope you are getting back up and support - I'm sure it will all be sorted soon.

CX

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Thanks to all the kind replies and support.

 

Today I chatted to my sister, who lives in a nearby village. Their school is the one which the Mum is considering may be a safer option for her child. My sister told me that quite a number of years ago a similar accident happened there with the loss of 3 finger tips! I know how all my staff and the child's family are feeling now...I just can't imagine that.

 

Fortunately the school has been supportive towards staff over the incident. All the forms etc have been filled in. We were asked lots of questions about our procedures and when I explained that we always model queuing away from the door and discuss accidents that could happen, the head replied 'so she was in the wrong place'. I've been asked to liaise with parents to provide work. Have invited the child plus Mum in next week for a session of her choosing. Hope this may help both of them to regain confidence about school setting and being able to trust others etc.

 

I've asked the parents to ask the consultant about rehabilitation, and the possibility if there is a problem of training a non dominant hand into a more prominant role. Thinking about it, I'm sure this is possible. I have a dominant hand and have learnt to touch type. I found it very difficult at first, but now my hands are able to work independently of one another, something which has really helped me this year as I have begun to learn to play the guitar. I'm sure there must be cases where in accidents people are able to build skill in a new area.

 

AOB

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My brother broke a couple of fingers and his thumb when he was knocked off his bike in his teens. He taught himself to use his other hand, and is now able to write with both hands at the same time.

 

Be careful that mom isnt giving off vibes thats will affect the little girl. Children usually get over things but if mom is at home talking about this to everyone, it will have a knock on effect that you probably wont win over.

Good luck :o

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xD So sorry to read about the accident . I hope you will feel better tomorrow after the initial shock . Perhaps mum will feel better after thinking about it . Keep smiling :o
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