THE owners of a Chatsworth creche are facing charges of neglect under the Child Care Act, after a toddler allegedly fell from the balcony of their double-storey house and sustained a fractured skull, while in their care.

Two-year-old Aariya Sewnarain, of Montford, has been fighting for her life in hospital since last Thursday.

Her distraught parents, Atholl and Shivana Sewnarain, claimed since the incident they had obtained three different versions of events from the Arena Park creche owners.

Atholl Sewnarain said their woes began on March 6, when they received a call in the afternoon from the creche owner, who told them that Aariya had fallen and hurt herself while running.

“She said she was bleeding from her nose, mouth and head but that she was okay. When we got there, Aariya had been moved inside and the blood was cleaned from her face.

“She had an ice-pack on her head. We took her to the doctor to make sure she was okay. He said she had a small hematoma, which could have resulted from a minor injury or trauma. He said if Aariya developed a fever or vomited, we should rush her to the hospital,” said Sewnarain.

“Before we could leave the surgery, Aariya vomited. We took her to RK Khan Hospital at around 6pm,” he added.

He said the doctors in the emergency room examined Aariya.

“A CT scan showed that she suffered a fractured skull, internal bleeding and clotting on her brain. She needed to be transferred to Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. We waited for about 12 hours for an ambulance and eventually on Friday at around 2pm, a private ambulance service transported her.

“At this stage Aariya’s condition was critical. The bleeding on her brain had worsened. The doctors said they suspected swelling of her brain or that her brain had moved.

“She had emergency surgery at 8pm on Friday. The surgery lasted three hours and she regained consciousness on Saturday. Her face was the size of a soccer ball due to the swelling,” he added.

Sewnarain said later that day they went to the creche and quizzed the owners further about what had happened.

“At this point, their story changed again. They said Aariya fell on the stairs. Then they said Aariya had fallen in the yard, while a caregiver was separating a fight among other children.

“We then demanded to view the CCTV footage but they said there was no camera facing the front of the house. The footage that we did see, showed Aariya playing in a room on the top floor of the creche, which led to the balcony. She was left unattended.

neglect

Creche owners face criminal charges after toddler's fall from balcony