Trust criticised over baby death
Trust criticised over baby death
A report into the death of a Romanian baby boy who was legally adopted by a County Armagh man has strongly criticised a Northern Ireland health trust.
The boy, who suffered multiple fractures, was buried without the injuries ever being explained.
It is understood the couple who adopted the boy and his twin brother have been questioned by police in connection with the death.
Former overseas missionary Geoffrey Briggs from Portadown, the boy's adoptive father, was later jailed for fracturing the skull of the child's twin brother.
The 45-page Department of Heath report published on Thursday, is highly critical of the Craigavon and Banbridge Community Trust, which oversaw the adoption.
One of the key findings said there was a failure to visit and support the children along with poor record-keeping.
The report says: "We can only conclude that there is a lack of leadership which led to confusion in operational staff.
"Neither the trust nor the board monitored inter-country adoption processes diligently and the trust failed to monitor the well-being of the children when they arrived."
A health visitor and a social worker were also criticised for failing, through lack of contact, to notice signs of stress in the family which led to the abuse of a child.
It emerged on Thursday that the health visitor is no longer employed by the trust.
It has also emerged that an assistant state pathologist, who carried out the post-mortem on the dead child, has been referred to the General Medical Council.
The Southern Health board's chief executive, Colm Donaghy, said the board accepted all the recommendations outlined in the report but that no disciplinary action would be taken over what happened.
Briggs adopted the nine-month-old twin boys under Romanian law in July 2000.
Less than four months later, one was dead and the other had a fractured skull.
The first child was pronounced dead at Craigavon Area Hospital in October 2000.
It is understood a post mortem examination was carried out at the hospital at the time, but no death certificate was issued, and the body was buried.
Just 13 days after that, the boy's twin was admitted to the same hospital with a fractured skull.
Mr Briggs admitted having punched the child, and was later convicted of grievous bodily harm, and sentenced to two years in prison.
The body of the boy's dead twin was then exhumed and a further post-mortem examination was ordered.
Explanation
That showed he had suffered extensive fractures to his ribs and body, none of which have ever been explained.
Up to 16 fractures were discovered on his torso but there was no suggestion, however, that he died from those injuries.
Briggs was jailed for inflicting grievous bodily harm on the surviving child, who is no longer in his care.
There has never been any explanation for the injuries suffered by the dead child.
A statement from the police after publication of the report said a further investigation was imitated earlier this year into the death of a 14-month-old child in Portadown in October 2000.
The statement said that as a result of further medical evidence, two people were recently interviewed about the death and have been released pending a report to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Stormont Health Minister Angela Smith said of the twin boys: "We failed them. They had the right to expect better from us, and they didn't get it.
"It is a personal priority for me to do whatever we can to ensure this doesn't happen again."
SDLP councillor Patricia Lewsley, who has been calling for the report to be published, said she hoped it would ensure such a situation never arose again.
"This is about ensuring that if procedures and protocols have not been followed that they are tightened up and I'm hoping that's what's in the recommendations," she said.
"And if there are any gaps that we now see new procedures put in place to ensure this never happens again."
Mr Briggs, who has since been released from prison, no longer lives in Northern Ireland.