Nanny leaves 4-month-old home alone

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A 4-month-old baby was left alone by a professional caregiver who did not return to the house for more than two hours.

The unnamed caregiver has been sacked for her "inexcusable" mistake in leaving the baby boy alone in a house in Henderson, West Auckland this week.

The baby's father, Andrew Gous, left the infant with a caregiver from in-home childcare provider Porse on Wednesday morning, expecting him to be cared for while he and his wife were at work.

But the couple realised they hadn't left some nappies for the baby, and Mr Gous returned to the house.

What he found was a "heart-wrecking" scene.

His son was home alone in the house; the caregiver was nowhere to be seen.

"I could not believe anyone, let alone professionals, would leave a baby alone in a house."

He told the Weekend Herald he got the "shock of his life" to find his son alone in the house.

Not knowing where the caregiver was, he waited at the house from 9.45am to 12.05pm, when she returned.

"It was completely heart-wrecking to find that you pay more for personal close in-home care, because you want someone to take special care of your little one - only to find them leaving a 4-month-old baby alone at home."

Porse is an in-home care provider which operates 38 facilities throughout New Zealand. Parents can leave their child with a mother in her home or with a nanny in their own home.

Mr Gous said his family were all horrified at what happened. The incident left him and his wife thinking of all the things that could have gone wrong.

"Cot death and those things are real."

The incident marred what should have been a happy day as it was Mr and Mrs Gous' wedding anniversary.

Police yesterday said the matter was being investigated.

Porse managing director Jenny Yule said the decision by the caregiver, who was a self-employed contractor, to leave a child in her care alone was "inexcusable".

"The child involved in this incident was unharmed and is safe and well. Porse is supporting the family involved and working with police and the Ministry of Education."

She said the company had also "swiftly" begun its own investigations and confirmed the caregiver was no longer working with Porse.

"We have terminated the self-employed contractor's contract."

Ms Yule said Porse was an approved training and service provider of early childhood education and programmes for young children and adults that was regularly audited by the Education Review Office.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Education said the ministry had been informed of the incident and was satisfied with the way Porse had dealt with it. It would continue to monitor the situation.