Managing A Child With A Broken Leg In The Setting (Injury At Home)

[Deb]

Just heard that one of our nearly 3 year olds has broken his leg over half-term and was wondering if any of you have any experience of managing a child with a broken leg in your setting.

 

I'm assuming that we can accept the child, I would certainly want to.

 

I presume I would have to assess the risk to him and to others within the setting?

 

He attends for comes two mornings per week. We could not afford to put in extra staff though.

 

First a member of staff in plaster with a broken thumb now this! Life is never dull!

[Susan]

I think you will need to make sure he has a full not temp plaster.

[Cait]

We've done it. A bit of a risk assessment for floor objects and furniture. Mum didn't want him back in till he was fairly mobile on it and not in pain anyway, and by then he was fine on it. We made sure that there were plenty of folk watching out for him, and that he wasn't static somewhere. It was fine

[sunnyday]

Yes, we've done it too....no problems at all really :1b

[louby loo]

We've done it too without any problems. (pre-school)

 

We started off with short sessions, and mum always made sure the child had been 'toileted' before coming (as this was our only problem area) and she was on hand to come in and help during a session if needed......... which it never was in the end.

 

Fantastic learning opportunity for the whole group!!! ::1a

[Guest]

we have a child with a broken leg, not mobile - parent does want the child to attend - which is great - and wants us to be on hand at all times - which is fine but can be difficult as she needs constant movement from one area to the next. has a wheelchair however mum does not want her to remain in the chair - wants us to lift and carry the child.

 

we will of course support as much as possible - she came to visit before the half term and other children were intrigued - wanted to sit with her others wanted to push the chair and child around the room. Quite daunting.

 

Just need more people to hand to support - mum is very nice she has offered to stay for some of the time to support in toilet visits etc and needs monitoring.

 

Children are interested we carried out a senario in the home corner with lots of bandages etc and mark making.....................................

[Deb]

I think you will need to make sure he has a full not temp plaster.

 

Hi Sue, is that because a temporary plaster would in some way be inferior ie not as hard as a full plaster and therefore not capable of withstanding a child tripping onto it? Sorry if it's a silly question.

[Deb]

Thank you all for your responses, it's reassuring to know it can be done! As you say, I think it could be a great learning opportunity, I'm sure the bandages and Doctors' kits will be out (again!) and will have to dig out the skeleton poster! I think some children will want to look after him, which will need careful management. I think toileting could be a problem to overcome too, in all the child will be with us for 4 hours. I don't think our little boy has a wheelchair (some sort of cart). I'm guessing there will need to be some sort of compromise around mobility/moving the child around, lifting the child might require two members of staff for the child's safety and to protect our backs, so the child may need to spend some time in a cart/wheelchair. Will have to see how low our height adjustable tables can go! Good idea to ask the parent to come in for a visit prior to his session (Mum works so she won't be able to stay to help out) so we can complete a health care plan. We'll also need to agree which member of staff would have responsibility for picking him up in an emergency such as a fire/fire drill.

[Susan]

Sounds like you've thought about most things Deb!

 

Yes, a temporary plaster is not as robust as the real thing, it allows for the swelling of the limb and is usually replaced after a few days if it is needed but the child would be more susceptible to harm while wearing one.

[Guest]

Some years ago we accepted a child attending who had broken her leg. She was in a wheelchair with the leg propped in front.

 

In discussion with parents we did a risk assessment, we had the ability to wheel the chair in, albiet not a proper access, the only real problem was space and taking her to the toilet - this did require 2 staff, one to lift her on and off the loo while the other maneouvred the wheelchair as space was very limited (we operate from sports pavilion).

 

We spoke with the other children about helping her be able to reach everything and to be careful around her, they were brilliant.

 

We had a staff discussion to ensure we could make sure all activities we planned or were available could be accessed by her, ensuring chair near table, making space available, giving her a tray on her lap to have small toys, equipment etc.

 

We even took her on the summer outing to Monkey World - we did need an extra staff member for that though, fortunately my 15yr old daughter was on holiday from school and often helped out in session so she came along just to push the chair.

 

It all worked out really well - just try to think of every problem in discussion with parents and do your best to sort it. You will be very much appreciated and the other kids will love to help!

[SueFinanceManager]

A response from a member who prefers not to post herself;

 

This is something we had experience of a couple of years ago.

 

A child due to start with us at the beginning of the Autumn broke his leg during mid-late August and was hospitalised for a time in traction. Parents were keen for the child to start as soon as possible. We risk assessed as initially the child was in a wheelchair and then had limited mobility. It was decided that we would be unable to accept the child without 1:1 support and were fortunate in that parents put together a rota of Mum, Dad and Grandma coming in to offer this support until the hospital confirmed the break was fully mended. We kept in touch with parents who took photos of the little lad in hospital and added narratives to start his learning journey, the other children in Kindergarten drew pictures, we made a card and this all helped with his transition. We're a sessional Kindergarten and children attend for the year before starting primary school.

[Deb]

Thanks for your response, good to know things worked out well. Everything is working out well with our child too. Fortunately he only has a half leg cast and is very mobile. We just need to clear a pathway through the toys sometimes.