WA daycare repeatedly feeds child with severe dairy allergy milk and cheese
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There are renewed calls for reform around allergy awareness and protocols after a Perth toddler suffered TWO separate anaphylactic reactions after being given foods he was allergic to by childcare centre staff.
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Allergy advice overlooked
Two-year-old Lincoln McLean was fed an entire bottle of milk at childcare, despite his family providing information indicating the little boy had a very serious dairy allergy.
Staff at the Perth centre failed to administer the toddler’s epipen, despite him going into anaphylactic shock. They called an ambulance and and by the time paramedics arrived the little boy was so seriously unwell they had to use three shots of adrenaline to revive him.
“We do believe it was just a mistake that someone made, Lincoln’s mum Hayley told 9 News. “A little boy’s life in the balance of that mistake.”
Three months later Lincoln’s allergy was overlooked again. He was served a dish which contained a cheese sauce and suffered a severe reaction once again.
“This time they did administer an epipen,” Hayley says “and the results of him coming into the hospital were much different.”
Trust shattered
Lincoln’s mum Hayley was gobsmacked this could happen once, let alone twice, especially when she’d placed her trust in the centre.
“As a mum you’re sitting there looking at a dozen people working to make sure your child is okay,” a tearful Hayley told 9 News. “It could have been prevented.”
There are now renewed calls for a formal system to manage the documentation of allergies, which can be absolutely life-threatening.
It’s being suggested that an anaphylaxis register would be a first step in the right direction when it comes to the care of people who suffer from allergies. This sort of register could log the details of those affected by allergies and also detail anaphylactic reactions.
Getting some clear documentation in place around the sort of experience Lincoln and his family went through would make formalising a protocol around allergy awareness and management much more effective – and ultimately save lives. There’s no time like the present for this important reform.