The father of a West African family is taking a baby girl from the UK to care for him.
Following a police investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service has begun to consider whether the caregiver should be prosecuted under the Sexual Offences Act. Yet he has been allowed to visit his daughter every month – a privilege denied to the mother and her family.
In a bizarre decision that an MP called ‘totally absurd’, social workers have decided to send the 2-year-old child to Ghana.
Interview with The Mail, Sunday: Her maternal grandmother stated that she thought it was insane. It has been forbidden for me to meet the baby. The man who gave me my child is now telling us that she is moving to Ghana for her upbringing.
“They have walked off with my granddaughter, leaving us all devastated. Is she going to be there forever? I fear that.
The father of a West African family is taking a girl from Britain who was brought up by a male carer in a mental hospital.
Initially, the social services offered to foster the child for the grandmother if they cut all ties. However, the grandmother refused. She refused.
The local authority approached the father’s family because they are legally required to place children with “wider family members prior to any other arrangements or orders being put into effect”.
The grandmother believes the adoption should have taken place in the UK, considering the particular circumstances.
Her vulnerable daughter, she said, cannot be named legally because her mental illness is severe and that was sectioned pursuant to the Mental Health Act.
The carer was a doctor at a Surrey mental hospital.
“One day she phoned me out of nowhere and told me, “Mum, have I got something to say?” Your help is needed. You are going to help me have a child’.
The grandmother replied, “I was shocked and confused, at a loss for how this could have occurred.”
“She said that the carer came to her room every night at night. It happened for a long time. The carer came into her room, shut the door, and then took all of his clothes off. That was it. She didn’t want to say more.
Carer relationships with patients with mental disorders are against the law. The penalty is up to 14 year imprisonment.
A spokesperson from Surrey Police stated that investigations into these offences can be complicated and take some time. “The matter remains under investigation. We cannot speak further except to state that we seek advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.”
After a Hampshire judge declared that the woman was unable to make medical decisions, she gave birth via caesarean section in a Hampshire maternity hospital. After a difficult battle with the social services, the grandmother claims that wrong-headed decisions won out over common sense.
The baby’s guardian was initially the grandmother who lives in South England. “It was originally stated that I would bring the baby home, but when the court ordered relating to the caesarean it changed everything.”
“My daughter was due by several weeks. She wouldn’t consent to a caesarean. Seven staff members had to hold her down at one point. Her condition was so bad that it was obvious she couldn’t consent to having sexual relations.
‘When I visited the hospital for the birth, they refused to let me see my baby. I had to wait in the waiting room and was warned that if I tried to enter, they would arrest me.
“It was completely unnecessary. I was unable to even hold my granddaughter and I have never seen her since. Three video conferences have taken place.
Following the birth, the mother was permitted to give her little girl a hug and say good-bye. The little girl was then placed in foster care a few days later. “Bearing in my mind that she had just had a Caesarean, I discharged her the day after,” said the grandmother. “She had been traumatised.
“It was obvious that my daughter wouldn’t have been capable of looking after her. But, there was always the hope that I could.”
“But they then said that I had to foster the child. To do this, I would need to cut off any contact with my daughter. It was unsafe for her to be with the child and she should not have any contact. They told me that I could not see her, receive phone calls from her or be involved in her mental care. But I couldn’t do this – I wasn’t going to abandon my daughter.’
Her grandmother stated that her daughter’s mental issues started after an assault as a teenager, and then became worse when she began taking drugs.
“Prior to this she had been bright, sociable, and passed all her exams. She was also going to college,” she stated.
“She went downhill. She couldn’t care for herself when she became ill. She was difficult to cope with. It was very difficult to cope with her after she gave birth.
Although she was discharged in the past from Surrey’s mental hospital, her severe mental illness has not subsided. She now lives on the South Coast alone.
The grandmother said that she believed her daughter doesn’t know what was happening. Or that she doesn’t even think about it, even if she did. For being the victim she’s being punished. She was innocent.
“All of this has had devastating effects on her. I can’t see her ever getting better. I know she needs the right care, but she isn’t getting it. Every day I fear that she will call me and tell me she is dead.
Julian Lewis (Conservative MP) described the choice to send the child from England to Ghana as extraordinary. It was quite remarkable. It’s completely absurd.
Local authorities involved stated they could not comment on individual cases. The statement added that Children’s Services were legally obliged to determine if children can be taken care of by other family members prior to any arrangements or orders being made. If children are placed in care and need to be cared for abroad, they will receive detailed assessments.
“Prospective caregivers, in this country or elsewhere, must also be rigorously evaluated before making any decisions.
Importantly, if decisions are not reached with families in an agreement, they will be subjected to scrutiny and consent by the courts.