Parents angry after its revealed staff at Edinburgh nursery failed to wash hands and many areas were "visibly dirty"

Owners of an Edinburgh nursery that was hit by a covid-19 outbreak have been ordered to make drastic improvements after inspectors found staff failed to wash hands and many areas were “visibly dirty”.
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Inspectors reported a string of failures at Busy Bees on Broughton Road, including staff not disposing of PPE after toileting.

It comes after six staff working across all three separate buildings run by the nursery – one in Broughton Road and two in neighbouring Beaverhall Road – were forced to isolate after testing positive for the virus in May.

Children at Busy Bees nursery had to 'wait to get their basic needs met'Children at Busy Bees nursery had to 'wait to get their basic needs met'
Children at Busy Bees nursery had to 'wait to get their basic needs met'
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The private nursery which can care for up to 88 children was graded ‘weak’ after the care watchdog concluded that children were being put at risk of infection due to staff flouting guidance.

Following two covid-19 focused inspection visits in June inspectors also identified that the nursery didn’t follow safe recruitment such as carrying out all relevant background checks on workers – potentially putting children at risk.

Parents are fuming about the dire standards exposed, particularly that children had to “wait for their basic needs to be met.”

Another concern was that important information about children's care and medical needs was not detailed in their personal plans.

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One angry mum told the Evening News they were looking at taking their children out of the nursery, which is owned by a chain that operates over 370 nurseries across the UK.

She said: "It's really worrying to read the findings. I could forgive the odd lapse in covid-19 safety standards but not in care. The bit in the report about 'staff not engaging with children' made me feel sad for the kids.

"In covid-19 times we're not allowed to enter the nursery so we rely on the management to ensure our child is in a safe environment.

"I'm angry and don't feel like my child's basic needs are being met so will be considering other nurseries."

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The nursery was told to make several major improvements by August 2 on infection control and meeting children’s needs, as well as recruitment.

The report states: “Many areas of the nursery were visibly dirty and cleaning solutions were not always available to staff.”

“Children were exposed to potential risk from infection as staff working in the service were not familiar with, or did not follow, up-to date guidance on infection prevention and control in respect of Covid-19.”

The nursery also has a lack of ventilation, which is a failure to comply with covid-19 guidance and its risk assessment.

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In an email update to parents about the recent inspection visit a nursery boss apologised and said they expected the findings of the report would be ‘unfavourable’.

A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: "The quality of care experienced by children at this nursery was graded 'weak' following our most recent inspection.

"We will inspect the service again in due course and will report on our findings.”

Yvonne Smillie, Managing Director for Busy Bees Scotland said, “We have apologised to parents for not meeting the standards they expect and we will keep them fully informed as improvements are made. We accept there is work to be done but we are making progress and are fully committed to providing the high quality care and learning experiences the children deserve.”

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