A mother has recalled the heartbreaking moment of watching her toddler on CCTV lying unresponsive in the playground at daycare as a staff member stood nearby.
Queensland's Early Childhood Regulatory Authority has launched an investigation into last month's incident at Little Creek Early Learning at Loganlea south of Brisbane.
CCTV showed Rachael Pope's three-year-old son Nikoah playing in the outdoor area with another boy before he suffered a suspected seizure.
The other boy appeared to wave to someone off-camera for help and tried to pull up Nikoah before running off.
He returned with several other children, who gathered around Nikoah and tried to lift him.
A staff member who entered the CCTV frame appeared to watch as the children gathered around Nikoah for about 30 seconds before she realised something was wrong and intervened, according to A Current Affair.
The educator then leaned down to check Nikoah before rolling him into the recovery position and calling for help.
Nikoah was carried inside more than three minutes after he went down.
Rachael Pope is demanding answers about what happened to three-year-old son Nikoah
CCTV captured a staff member watching the children try to help a motionless Nikoah before she intervened 33 seconds later
Ms Pope was told by staff that her son was unresponsive for five minutes and claimed that an ambulance was not called.
'Just seeing him there, lifeless, it broke me,' Ms Pope told A Current Affair as she fought back tears while watching the footage.
'They (the staff) should have been there before then. They should have been having eyes on them.'
She picked up Nikoah from daycare and rushed him to hospital, where he spent the next 24 hours.
'She said to me that there was something going on with Nikoah. He's not being himself and they think that he's had a seizure and he's unconscious, and I just jumped in the car and went straight there,' Ms Pope recalled.
'I could tell there was something wrong because usually he'd be really, really clingy and jumping around. And he wasn't doing that.
'He looked pale and flat.'
One month on from the incident, Nikoah is still undergoing tests to determine what caused the collapse.
The incident at Little Creek Early Learning at Loganlea is being investigated by the childcare regulator
Ms Pope said she had not received an apology from the centre. Nikoah no longer attends Little Creek Early Learning.
She is now calling for childcare workers to receive additional first-aid training.
'I want other parents to know their children are safe and staff have training,' Ms Pope told The Courier-Mail.
'I'm very angry and distraught knowing that my son was lying there for nearly two and a half minutes before anybody did anything.'
Daily Mail has contacted Little Creek Early Learning for comment.
The Department of Education confirmed that the Queensland Early Childhood Regulatory Authority had been notified about the incident and had launched an investigation.
Little Creek Early Learning describes itself as a 'premium' childcare centre for the local community.
'With a purpose-built centre, beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces and a team of wonderful qualified educators, our ambition is to be the centre of choice for local families looking for premium child care or kindergarten,' its website states.
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