A baby boy starved to death in London’s Westminster whilst his seriously ill and “socially isolated” mother struggled to find proper housing, benefits and support. The revelations came on 5 October 2012 after a serious case review into the child’s death.
The inquest returned a verdict of accidental death, noting that the baby, known as Child EG, died after his mother developed a rare brain infection, causing her to fall unconscious, and therefore unable to feed her child. The mother of the child died two days after her son.
However, the full serious case review highlights a number of failings that contributed to the family’s vulnerability in the months before the tragedy.
The child’s mother found it difficult to obtain benefits after her asylum application was approved and she found herself caught between two separate support systems, the review notes. “There were significant problems in the transition from National Asylum Support Service (Nass) to mainstream benefits.”
The family had become “destitute” because of the withdrawal of the service’s support, a critical letter from the chair of Westminster’s independent local safeguarding children‘s board notes, and were being given cash handouts by healthcare workers and social services “to tide them over”.
