[ad_1]
A social worker who handed a 10-week-old girl back to her parents who allegedly shook her to death admitted to being ‘really worried’ about the child returning home, a court heard today.
Lily-Mai Saint George was just ten weeks old when she died from a serious head injury and had also suffered 18 rib fractures, two fractures in her leg and severe bruising.
The baby had been discharged into her parents’ care just six days earlier despite the opposition of hospital staff over concerns about the mother’s anger problems and her lack of bond with the child, Wood Green Crown Court heard on Wednesday.
Haringey social worker Theresa Ferguson attended a discharge planning meeting at Barnet Hospital on January 16, where those in attendance expressed concern, but she claims her manager said social services options were limited at the time.
Giving evidence about the meeting, she told Wood Green Crown Court: ‘I was really worried about her going home, the hospital was really clear about their concerns. We didn’t really have anything about how the parents were with Lily-Mai.
‘I was told that, with the management, there had been conversations and there wasn’t consideration for a placement at that point and Lily-Mai would be returning home.’
Lauren Saint George and Darren Hurrell, both 25, are accused of shaking their ten-week-old daughter to death eight days after she was released into their care despite the objections of hospital staff.
The parents both deny murder, manslaughter, causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16 years old.
Lily-Mail died at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital on 2 February 2018, after being found unresponsive by her parents at their home in Belmont Road, Haringey, two days earlier.
She had been born prematurely in November 2017 and spent the first two months of her life in Barnet Hospital, before she was discharged into her parents’ care on 25 January 2018.
Lauren Saint George, pictured arriving at court today, and Darren Hurrell, both 25, allegedly shook their ten-week-old daughter to death
Darren Hurrell arrives at Wood Green Crown Court, London, where he and Lauren Saint George are charged with the murder of their baby daughter
Lily-Mail died at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital on 2 February 2018, after being found unresponsive by her parents at their home in Belmont Road, Haringey, two days earlier
A second meeting was scheduled for January 22, to allow for a period of time where both parents could stay at the hospital and be observed with their child.
While concerns remained at the second meetings, she told the court Lily-Mai would would be sent home with her parents as options including supervision in a residential unit were not available.
She said: ‘I can’t answer for management, but it wasn’t an option at that time.’
The court heard that Lily-Mai had been referred to social services three times, including to Enfield, where the couple lived when she was born, and finally with Haringey after they were found housing in the borough.
Ms Ferguson also told the court she had not ‘worked a case like Lily-Mai’s’ and that she was allocated it as a more senior social worker was working at capacity and another member of the team was too junior.
The court heard on Tuesday that Ms told the couple Lily-Mai would have to go into a residential unit around four or five hours before Saint George made a 999 call on the night of January 31 2018.
Lauren Saint George – who was described in a report by neonatal sister Deborah Hodge as ‘getting angry very easily’ – and Hurrell had been homeless for several years and staff had tried to stop them taking Lily-Mai home, believing they were incapable of looking after her, jurors heard.
Medics made a total of three referrals to social services expressing concern for Lily-Mai before she was discharged.
Staff were horrified when Saint George told them she ‘hated’ the noises Lily-Mai made and wished she would ‘cry instead of groaning’.
But when medics told one social worker they were worried the parents would not look after the baby, they said they felt they were not being taken seriously.
Midwife Marie Creighton said the council worker had ‘sauntered in with a miserable look on her face’ and had insisted ‘everything was fine’.
Midwife Creighton told jurors, in a statement, about the attitude of the social worker in a professionals meeting on 16 January 2018 in which hospital staff discussed safeguarding Lily-Mai in the event of her discharge.
‘I remember her…sauntering in with a miserable look on her face.
‘She said she had been to Lauren and Darren’s flat and everything was fine and she didn’t understand why she was called into the meeting, ‘why are we even discussing her?’
‘She displayed a generally disinterested attitude.
‘We explained our concerns. The social worker then began to change her attitude.’
Ms Creighton could not remember who the social worker was.
Saint George and Hurrell arrived halfway through the meeting and the doctor present questioned them about how they would look after Lily-Mai if and when she was discharged, jurors heard.
Ms Creighton said: ‘I just sat there and realised that they would not cope.
Darren Hurrell arrived at Wood Green Crown Court, London, on Tuesday where he and Lauren Saint George are charged with the murder
Neonatal sister Deborah Hodge (pictured) confirmed in court that she had written in a report: ‘Mum was very open about the fact that she gets angry very easily’
‘During this meeting while they were both in the room the smell of their body odour became apparent and became increasingly worse.’
Prior to this meeting, Ms Creighton expressed ‘grave concerns’ about Lily-Mai and the couple’s parenting skills, jurors heard.
Ms Creighton said she first met Saint George and Hurrell at Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield, north London.
‘I did immediately think they came across as a couple who needed extra care,’ she told the court in a statement.
‘They were both scruffy in appearance.’
After this first meeting, the midwife thought Saint George’s history ‘didn’t add up’.
‘Alarm bells were ringing in my head,’ she said.
Saint George attended all of her appointment pre-birth with Hurrell, the court heard.
‘Both came across as wanting the baby and seemed happy in the situation,’ Ms Creighton said.
After Lily-Mai’s birth, Ms Creighton alleged that Saint George showed ‘little interest’ in her baby.
On 21 November 2017, four days after Lily-Mai was born, Ms Creighton paid Saint George and Hurrell a visit at Barnet Hospital.
‘I told her well done for getting to 31 weeks,’ the midwife said.
‘I said to her, ‘Let’s go and see Lily-Mai.’
‘Lauren replied something like, ‘No I’m having my dinner.’
‘Darren then told her dinner could wait and Lauren said, ‘Oh alright then come on.’
The trio went to see the baby, jurors heard.
Ms Creighton continued: ‘Lauren however just stood there with her back to the baby…moaning about finding housing, money.
‘Both myself and Darren told her to look at the baby and she may have glanced at her but I’m not sure.’
The midwife said she contacted the special care unit afterwards to enquire about how Saint George was getting on with Lily-Mai.
The trial continues.
[ad_2]
Source link
