'We can only hope the findings lead to change'

CORONER FINDS NEGLECT CONTRIBUTED TO DEATH OF CHILD AT CARE HOME

- By EMILY DALTON

NEGLECT at a children's care home contributed to the tragic death of a 12-year-old girl, a coroner has found.

Raihana Awolaja sadly died of natural causes contributed by neglect on June 1, 2023 at Tadworth Court care home.

Staff at the Surrey home failed to give the 24-hour, one-to-one support Raihana needed because of her extensive health issues, according to the legal firm representing the family, Leigh Day.

Mike Thiedke, chief executive of The Children's Trust which ran the care home where she lived, said: "We unreservedly apologise to Raihana's family for these failings [...] Raihana's death has had a profound effect on the way we deliver care and work with families today at The Children's Trust."

Born prematurely at 27 weeks as a twin, Raihana was left with complex disabilities including being non-verbal and dependent on breathing through a tube in her neck. Raihana needed round-the-clock and one-to-one supervision to ensure her breathing tube did not get blocked, lawyers from Leigh Day said.

But the coroner Professor Fiona Wilcox concluded there was confusion around the meaning of 'one-to-one' care between Croydon Council and The Children's Trust.

The inquest, at Inner West London Coroner's Court, heard the care home did not have enough staff available to consistently cover patients one-to-one. They were told individual staff members were regularly left caring for at least two patients at a time during staffing breaks and twice daily shift handovers.