2-week-old baby dies after prison staff refuse to provide her medical care because she was 'not an inmate'
A two-week-old baby died in an Australian jail because the prison staff allegedly refused to provide care claiming she was "not an inmate". The incident reportedly took place at Dame Phyllis Frost Center’s dedicated mothers and children units in Victoria, Australia.
The newborn was reportedly left unconscious for up to 30 minutes before her death. The mother of the baby, who was not identified by reports, screamed hysterically for help after her child became motionless but not a single staff member came forward to aid in reviving the child.
Although one of the inmates did step forward to provide CPR to the infant, a nurse was called to check out the child's condition too late. The unit in question allows children to live with their mother until they are six and is part of a maximum-security jail.
Corrections Victoria, which runs the jail, defended their practices, saying, that the prison "meets acceptable community standards for the safe and secure housing of children and adequately meets the nutritional, developmental and health needs of the child."
They also made clear that a nurse was supposed to make regular visitations and keep daily records of the children’s health. However, an insider told Daily Mail Australia they had grave concerns about the youngsters housed in the prison which is home to a number of high profile prisoners.
"What really frightens me is that there is going to be more infants coming in," the insider said. "If nothing changes, if basic first aid isn’t administered or someone is calling up at 2 a.m. and their baby has got an ear-ache that could burst or something, can’t see the prison doctor for days on end, it’s only a matter of time before another baby dies." The police are yet to submit their findings to the coroner.