The father of a little girl who was locked on a bus for six hours in sweltering heat wants the childcare service that left her there shut down.
Nevaeh Austin, three, was given less than
She walked out of Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane on Monday after being airlifted there in critical condition last week, suffering kidney failure.
The toddler was was found unresponsive on a minivan outside Le Smileys Early Learning Centre at Gracemere, near Rockhampton last Wednesday. Temperatures on the day were about 29C outside.
Her father Shane said his ‘heart sunk’ when he received the call that his daughter was unconscious and it was a moment ‘no parent wants to ever go through’.
a five per cent chance of surviving before her miraculous recovery.
What the hell were they doing? That’s what I want to know,’ he told the Today show on Tuesday.
Her grandmother Pam said it was horrific Neveah was the second child to be left on a daycare bus after Maliq ‘Meeky’ Nicholas Floyd Namok-Malamoo, 3, died in similar circumstances in Cairns in February 2020.
‘The Department of Education should close it [the centre] down,’ she said.
‘One life lost is a tragedy, to almost lose another is almost incomprehensible.’
Pam said the centre’s ratings plummeted from five stars to one, with many reviews demanding the business permanently close.
Just hours after being discharged, Nevaeh, her mother, and father sat down with big smiles as they dined at Red Rooster at Brisbane Airport on the way back to Rockhampton.
Shane said he was ‘more than relieved’ to have his daughter finally back home on Monday night, while Pam said it was the first time she has been able to sleep since last week.