Source: Telegraph >> Read full article and comment
An eight-year-old girl with a fear of dentists died of starvation after she was failed by the medical authorities involved in her case, a report has found.
Sophie Waller, who would not open her mouth, and refused to eat, drink, or speak after she had eight milk teeth removed, died at home from kidney failure caused by dehydration, 23 days after the operation in 2005.
A senior doctor at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro later admitted at an inquest that Sophie had been the victim of below-standard care.
Now, a serious case review, held by the Local Safeguarding Children Board, has concluded that there was a need for better communication between those involved in Sophie’s care, particularly in relation to her discharge from hospital.
The girl’s mother, Janet Waller, a nursery nurse, has said Sophie developed a fear of dentists at the age of four when her tongue was cut during a routine check up. When she loosened a milk tooth on a sweet, she refused to allow a dentist to look at it.
In November 2005 her family took her to a specialist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital who took all Sophie’s milk teeth out. The girl became so traumatised she refused to open her mouth to eat and had to be fed by a tube.
She was kept in hospital for 11 days before being sent home. She continued to refuse to open her mouth, and when her parents tried to feed her she would not swallow.
Mrs Waller said she had tried to get Sophie readmitted but was referred to a child psychologist.
At the time of her death, Sophie had become so emaciated that she was unable to walk, her hair was falling out and her skin flaking. The inquest was told that she had lost 11kg (24lb), almost a third of her body weight…..Continue reading
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