Unregistered Nanny Charged After Newborn Twins Went Into a Coma

An unregistered nanny has been charged after the newborn twins she was caring for ended up in a coma for 20 hours.

The twins were immediately taken to Brisbane’s Lady Cilento Hospital last week after their mother and paramedics were unable to rouse them for a night-time feed.

It is understood that the twins’ parents hired the 41-year-old nanny after the twins’ grandmother got sick and the mother needed help looking after the newborns as her husband was a shift worker. The mother saw the nanny’s profile through a Facebook parenting group, believing she held a blue card. A blue card is required in the state of Queensland when working with children.

Australian Nannies Association president Annemarie Sansom, who had been in contact with the newborns’ parents, told Daily Mail Australia that the nanny had been promoting herself on the Brisbane-based Facebook parenting group. “The family engaged with [the nanny] and another friend of the family actually vouched for her because they had used her themselves,” she said.

The mother handed over the babies to the nanny’s care at 8pm one night last week as she wanted to have a rest and remained at home. “They were fine, healthy and then found later in the evening, when they had missed their feeding time, unable to wake up. So the mum then went to find out what was going on. They [the parents] tried for two hours to wake them and they got concerned and called an ambulance,” Ms Sansom said. The babies did not wake up until 20 hours later at 4pm the next day.

Ms Sansom said paramedics were also unable to rouse the babies even though their vitals were okay. She said that the parents were very distressed especially since they are first-time parents. Thankfully, the twins were returned home to their parents. The cause of the babies’ unresponsiveness has not yet been made public.

Ms Sansom advised some steps parents should take to ensure the welfare of their children.

“I don’t want parents to be discouraged from using nannies but do the right checks and engage service providers who provide those checks.

“Do your research on what the requirements are before you engage so you can minimise any risks,” she said,

Ms Sansom said parents should sight a blue card, get a national police check, first aid certificates, CPR certificates, and go through multiple references. “Just be very certain they know as much as possible about who they’re hiring,” she added.

Police have charged the nanny with being unregistered without a blue card. She is due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on September 26.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk