A baby died from choking on pasta bolognese as their caretaker was simultaneously feeding four children.

Oliver Steeper, a nine-month-old baby, tragically passed away in September 2021 after choking while at the Jelly Beans Day Nursery in Ashford, Kent. The incident occurred while one of the nursery workers was feeding a group of four children pasta Bolognese. Oliver was taken to the hospital, but unfortunately passed away six days later.

This heartbreaking event took place only four weeks after Oliver had started attending the nursery. During the inquest, it was revealed that on the day of the incident, the nursery worker, Loetta Collins, was responsible for feeding Oliver and had finely chopped his food, as per his parents' request. Mrs. Collins was not feeding Oliver at the time of the incident, but was his designated caregiver and had been working at the nursery for the same amount of time as Oliver had been attending.

Oliver's parents had assumed that his food would be pureed by the nursery staff, as he had been eating pureed meals at home and they believed he was not yet able to chew properly. However, during the inquest, it was disclosed that it was common practice for the nursery staff to chop up the food prepared by chefs to suit the needs of each baby. Mrs. Collins had discussed with Oliver's mother, Zoe Steeper, about how her son's food should be prepared, and Mrs. Steeper had requested for it to be finely chopped. Mrs. Collins had also spent a considerable amount of time cutting and mixing Oliver's food until she was satisfied with the consistency.

The nursery's staff to baby ratio was one staff member for every three children, and lunch was usually served at 11am. Mrs. Collins stated that it was not common for one staff member to feed four children at once, and it was not something she usually did. The incident occurred when lunch was running late due to the busy day, and Mrs. Collins had chopped up Oliver's food before another staff member fed it to him.

Mrs. Collins immediately realized something was wrong with Oliver when he made a sound like he was going to cry but did not start crying. Being trained in first aid, she recognized that he was choking and tried to clear his airway with back slaps. The nursery manager arrived to assist, and emergency call handlers instructed them to start CPR. However, despite their efforts, brain scans revealed that Oliver was not going to survive, and he passed away six days later.

During the inquest, another nursery worker, Hagia Harris, stated that she had been told that Oliver's food was supposed to be pureed. She was feeding other children in the same room when the incident occurred and expressed concern about seeing the baby being fed chopped up solid foods. However, she did not discuss it much as she was not Oliver's key worker. Mrs. Harris recalled that Oliver had started turning blue as they tried to help him breathe.

The Jelly Beans Day Nursery has since closed, according to Ofsted. The inquest is expected to last for two weeks as the jury hears more evidence and testimonies related to this tragic incident.

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