Centres warned on hand sanitisers
EVAN HARDING
Last updated 05:00, December 26 2014
NICOLE JOHNSTONE
Woodhouse Early Learning Centre owner Jackie Woodward holds up hand sanitiser where it was located at the centre. Woodward believes the four-year-old climbed onto a bookshelf, reached up and drank it.
The Ministry of Education will warn all early childhood centres in New Zealand about the risks of alcohol-based hand sanitiser in the wake of an Invercargill 4-year-old girl becoming grossly intoxicated at her preschool.
The ministry has completed a two-week investigation into an incident at the Woodhouse Early Learning Centre that resulted in the girl being admitted to hospital with a blood alcohol level of 188mg, nearly four times the new legal driving limit.
The preschool owner, Jackie Woodward, believed the girl got intoxicated from drinking hand sanitiser at the premises without the knowledge of staff.
NICOLE JOHNSTONE
40mls of alcohol-based hand sanitiser, the estimated amount a four-year-old drank before becoming grossly intoxicated.
Her assertion has been backed up by the ministry, which has found it was "most likely" the child drank hand sanitiser.
"We've completed the investigation into the incident at Woodhouse Early Learning Centre, where a child was admitted to hospital due to a suspected alcohol intake," ministry spokeswoman Katrina Casey said.
"Our investigation has shown that it was most likely the child ingested hand sanitisers at the centre. We found no alcohol on the premises and the centre manager has formally stated that there was no other form of alcohol on the premises."
Casey said the incident had drawn attention to the potential danger posed by the high alcohol content of hand sanitiser used for hand cleaning. "We will be communicating with all early childhood services in the new year regarding the risks associated with hand sanitiser when it is accessible to children."
Following the incident, the Woodhouse Early Learning Centre took immediate action to ensure the safety of all children under its care by removing all hand sanitiser from the children's activity space, Casey said.
The ministry identified areas that needed improving at the centre, including a review of the centre's supervision plan and practice. Centre staff also needed to be more aware of when a child's behaviour seemed different, she said. "The centre's management team have said they will implement our recommendations. We will assist in any way we can and will also monitor to ensure the recommendations are implemented."
Following the incident a fortnight ago, National Poisons Centre toxicologist Leo Schep said it received two or three calls a day from parents saying their children had drunk hand sanitiser, which had 60 to 70 per cent alcohol content. "The biggest cause of alcohol consumption in kids is hand sanitiser by far. They [parents] should keep it out of reach of kiddies."
Casey has said previously that washing hands with soap and water and drying them properly was sufficient to prevent the spread of illness.
- The Southland Times
Sourced from: http://www.stuff.co....hand-sanitisers
