A six-month-old baby was seriously injured on Monday at a babysitter’s in Kessel-Lo, Flemish Brabant, the Leuven prosecutor’s office reports. The baby reportedly fell onto a changing table, causing a fracture of the skull and a cerebral haemorrhage.
The incident is said to have happened at around 10:30 in the morning. The babysitter reports that she was holding the child in her arms when the baby slipped and fell onto a changing table.
“He didn't fall from a height but the impact was significant,” spokesperson for the public prosecutor Sarah Callewaert reports. “The baby immediately lost consciousness.”
The infant boy was successfully resuscitated by emergency services and taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured skull and brain haemorrhage. He is now being kept in an artificial coma.
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The prosecution has appointed a medical examiner to look into the precise circumstances of the accident and verify the statement given by the babysitter.
In Flanders, the childcare sector is going through a turbulent period as several crèches have recently been forced to close due to serious accidents or reports of abuse.
Last year, a six-month-old baby died at a nursery in Mariakerke, near Gent, where problems had already been revealed. An audit of the inspection and management processes of childcare facilities in Flanders was subsequently commissioned. This revealed shortcomings at various levels.
