By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson.
Mother 'who suffocated babies had refused help'
A mother who is alleged to have suffocated three of her babies refused an ofer of resuscitation lessons a week before the death of her second child, a court heard yesterday.
Trupti Patel told a nurse that she would be able to cope if there were any complications despite being unable to revive her first child 18 months previously.
Her husband accepted the lessons.
Patel also turned down the use of an apnoea monitor, against her husband's wishes, which would have set off an alarm if her baby had stopped breathing.
Source:- The Times Friday 2 May page 5
Heroin addicts who detox more likely to die of an overdose
Heroin addicts who complete detoxification programmes to rid themselves of the drug are at a higher risk of overdosing if they relapse, researchers warned today.
Five addicts died, three of an overdose and two from other causes, within 12 months of being discharged from the in-patient unit at the National Addiction Centre at the Maudsley Hospital in London.
The deaths raise questions over the safety of detoxification treatment used in hospitals and out-patient projects throughout the country.
Source:- The Independent Friday 2 May page 11
Cannabis smoking could cause 30,000 deaths a year, study claims
If the ill effects of smoking cannabis are comparable to those of smoking tobacco, it may be responsible for the deaths of 30,000 people a year, researchers have warned.
Working with the figure of an estimated 3.2 million people using cannabis in the UK, doctors have calculated the deaths based on the 120,000 deaths among the 13 tobacco smokers.
Source:- The Independent Friday 2 May page 11
Girl, 11, arrested in raid on 'crack house'
A girl aged 11 was arrested for possessing cannabis after a raid on a house in Middlesbrough where police found crack cocaine and £1,000 cash. A woman aged 26 and a man aged 25 were also arrested on suspicion of possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply.
Source:- The Independent Friday 2 May page 8
Scottish newspapers
Killer mum ‘devoted to little Erin’
A mother who killed her five-year-old daughter with a claw hammer was a devoted caring parent, the high court in Glasgow heard yesterday.
Ann Dunn smashed Erin Gilmour’s skull and almost killed another child in he frenzied attack, after which she took an overdose.
But Dunn’s lawyer Desmond Finnieston said Dunn had been a good mother who lost control after being gripped by a serious mental illness. She became depressed after breaking up with Erin’s father Kenneth Gilmour.
When she appeared in court last month Dunn admitted culpable homicide by reason of diminished responsibility, and she pleaded guilty to seriously assaulting the other girl.
Temporary judge Leeona Dorrian ordered Dunn to be returned to Carstairs hospital so her mental state could continue to be assessed.
Dunn is due back in court on 24 July.
Source:- Daily Record Friday 2 May page 19
I’ll climb Everest in a wheelchair
Disabled Glenn Shaw and friend Neil Laughton are setting off to climb Mount Everest later this month in a bid to break the record for the highest ascending disabled man in history.
The four-week trip in the Himalayas range is the first time a wheelchair climb of its kind has been attempted.
Using a specially designed harness wheelchair Laughton and his team will push and lift Shaw, who has brittle bones, up the 29,000 ft plus mountain.
Source:- Daily Record Friday 2 May page 37
Pupils sue charity over perv teacher
Former pupils of a charity set up to educate children of Scots servicemen are set to sue the charity claiming they were abused by one of its staff.
Housemaster Allen Meredith was jailed for 10 years in 1995 for subjecting youngsters to a catalogue of sexual abuse at the Royal Caledonian School in Hertfordshire. The school is now closed.
But Meredith’s victims are claiming damages from the charity which ran the school, the Royal Caledonian Education Trust.
Source:- Daily Record Friday 2 May page 43
Welsh newspapers
Nurse is struck off after abuse
A mental health nurse who ill-treated patients at two nursing homes, has been struck off the profession’s register.
Stefan Spedding was jailed for 12 months in May 2001 for 11 counts of ill-treating patients at a nursing home in Bridgend. Later that year he was given a further three months’ sentence after pleading guilty to six counts of ill-treatment at another home in the town.
The professional conduct committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Council has now ruled that his name should be removed from the register with immediate effect.
Source:- South Wales Echo Thursday 1 May page 13
Jail short of staff, inspector warns
Staffing levels at Parc prison in Bridgend are too low to ensure the safety of inmates and wardens, says the Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers.
The 800-inmate prison, operated by Securicor, was safe and respectful according to a new report but it says: “Additional staff are urgently needed to ensure that levels of safety are maintained”.
Parc prison, which opened in 1997, holds adults, young offenders and juveniles on remand.
Source:- Western Mail Friday 2 May page 7
