An inquest is currently underway, in Auckland NZ, regarding the death of a four-year-old at a childcare centre in 2016. The child was playing on a toy slide when the incident occurred.
The little boy Aldrich was sliding down a toy slide with plastic stilts, tied together with an elastic cord so children could carry them. The cord got stuck at the top of the slide and caught around his neck on the way down – resulting in him falling unconscious.
A little girl had noticed that "Aldrich is sleeping" and she informed a teacher who was outside with the children. When the teacher saw Aldrich, he had the cord wrapped around his neck and was unconscious. "His heart was beating, but he wasn‘t breathing," she said. A teacher and paramedics attempted CPR, but couldn’t revive him.
The centre no longer has stilts – and has banned anything that could strangle a child on play equipment. They’ve also replaced the slide and sectioned off an area outside with new fencing. A convex mirror has also been put up to cover a blind spot outside.
In March 2017, Gisha Viju spoke about the need for CCTV cameras overlooking playgrounds.
“We don‘t have proof to know what happened. That’s why we are (saying) all childcare centres should have cameras in playing areas,’’ she said. “My request is that proper actions should (be taken) to prevent this – like installing cameras in play areas and increasing the number of staff in childcare centres.
“Try to avoid dangerous play equipment – there should be proper inspections to make sure of safety.”
WorkSafe confirmed it wouldn’t prosecute the death – after a lengthy investigation in 2017 cleared the centre of wrongdoing.
Reference:
Aldrich Viju Inquest: Child Tragically Dies On Slide At Daycare centre, News.com.au
