Workers at a north-east after-school club where a young boy died after choking on a grape have been slammed for not knowing how to help a child in an “emergency”.
Newtonhill Out of School Club has also been criticised by watchdogs after staff failed to notice a youngster had left the building and walked home.
It was only after they realised he was missing that the alarm was raised.
The failing was uncovered during recent checks by the Care Inspectorate.
Its damning inspection also discovered that numerous carers were not even registered with the social service’s regulatory body – which could have put children at “risk from harm”.
The failings come three years after a five-year-old boy choked on a grape while he was in the care of staff at the club, based at the Bettridge Centre in the village’s Graystone Place.
Louis Emaho was taken to the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, but died shortly after being admitted in February 2012.
Following an investigation, police ruled there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident.
And inspectors said they had “no concerns” about the quality of care following a subsequent Care Inspectorate visit triggered by the tragic accident.
But three years on, serious worries have now been raised about how the club is run – with inspectors grading the quality of the environment, the quality of staffing and the quality of management with grade two, weak.
During the unannounced visit, inspectors probed how prepared staff are in handling children’s medication and health concerns.
They discovered that although workers had received first aid training, some were not sure what to look for if a child took an allergic reaction.
“They were also not sure of all the steps to follow in an emergency situation, for example a child not responding to their medication,” they said.
“Staff must know what steps to follow in an emergency – lack of this knowledge could put a child at risk of harm.”
Last night, no one from the after-school club wanted to comment on the latest report.
A spokesman for the Care Inspectorate confirmed the inspection “raised some concerns”.
“We have specified the areas where we require improvement in our inspection report and we will continue to work with this service to ensure it improves,” he said.
“If we are not satisfied that sufficient progress is being made we will not hesitate to take further action.”
Scottish Social Service’s Council
The Care Inspectorate also discovered during recruitment checks that four members of staff were not registered with the Scottish Social Service’s Council (SSSC), or any other professional body.
The manager agreed to address the issue as a “matter of urgency” and said the carers would not work at the club again until their applications had been submitted.
The watchdog also discovered that some check forms from staff had been submitted only after they had been employed.
“This could put children at risk from harm as the provider could not confirm staffs ‘fitness’ to work with children prior to all checks being returned satisfactory,” they ruled.
Further concerns were raised about the children’s safety, with one parent worried about how secure the building is.
Staff said there were measures in place to keep children safe – for example, making sure the youngsters know the boundaries they are not allowed past.
“However, we were of the opinion this was not adequate enough,” the inspectors ruled.
“We were also made aware of an incident around Easter time when a child walked home from the service unauthorised and staff were not aware of this until later in the session when they became aware of the child not being there.
“The manager told us that an investigation into how this incident had happened had taken place and changes were made, however, none of the investigation or outcome had been recorded.”
When parents were questioned on what they thought of the service, they said they were happy with how the club was run.
The inspectors concluded: “Through comments received from parents/carers we concluded that Newtonhill
Out of School Club meets the needs of parents and families.
“The provider/manager must support staff to provide a service which continues to meet these needs but improves the quality of the service overall.”