A seven-year-old boy faces losing the top of his thumb after trapping it in the gate of a purpose-built primary school in Angus
The incident, which took place last week at Burnside Primary in Carnoustie, left primary two pupil Andrew McAdam needing emergency surgery.
It is the second time a pupil has been injured on a gate at a school built as part of Angus Council’s £50m Carnoustie/Forfar schools project, leaving the local authority examining how measures to prevent such accidents have “failed.”
On Wednesday Andrew’s mother Angela lambasted the council for not having a foolproof system to prevent kids injuring themselves on school property.
She also claimed the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) did not know about the incident until she telephoned them.
Angela said, “Andrew got his thumb caught in a gate at school, which basically took the top of his thumb off.
“He will lose the top of his thumb, and I’m annoyed because he should have been looked after at school.”
She added, “You could trap a hand in that gate, never mind a thumb, but the Health and Safety Executive has looked at it, so hopefully it won’t happen to another child.”
A similar accident occurred last year at Langlands in Forfar, which led to the council bringing in guidelines about the opening and closing of security gates. The council says both it and Robertson, who constructed the buildings and manage the facilities, are looking to find a “permanent solution.”
A spokeswoman said, “A P2 pupil at Burnside Primary School caught his finger between the gate and gate post in the lunch break on May 17 and unfortunately sustained an injury to one of his fingers.”New measuresShe added, “Following a similar incident last year when a P1 pupil at Langlands Primary School, Forfar, also sustained a hand injury, new measures were adopted on the opening and closing of security gates.
“Unfortunately, the new methods of securing gates at lunchtime at Burnside Primary seem to have failed and we are investigating this with (construction company) Robertson, the owner of the building.”
The spokeswoman said, “Gates at all the new-build schools in Angus have been surveyed and where necessary, interim measures have been put in place to ensure the safety and security of the pupils and to avoid any future accidents.
“We are working on a permanent solution to the problem with Robertson.”
An HSE spokeswoman said that the council would legally have 10 days to notify them of the latest accident meaning that Thursday would be the cut-off point.
The Carnoustie/Forfar schools project encompassed the design, construction, financing and operation of six primary schools and a major new extension to Carnoustie High School.