Body of baby girl discovered in the toilets of out-of-hours GP

Teenage mother is believed to have given birth while attending clinic

THE body of a baby girl was found in the toilets of an out-of-hours GP service last month, it has emerged.

It is believed the baby’s teenage mother was brought to the HSE-run Caredoc Health Centre on Cork Road, Waterford in the early hours of April 22.

While at the clinic, the woman who is a Waterford local, is thought to have gone to the bathroom and given birth to the baby.

The woman was then taken to University Hospital Waterford for further treatment.

A search for the baby’s remains was later carried out and it is believed the newborn was discovered in the female toilets near the rear of the premises.

Gardaí sealed off the area and Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis carried out a post-mortem examination, the results of which have not yet been disclosed.

Since being released from hospital, the mother has been in the care of her Waterford-based family.

‘It’s a very serious situation for everybody involved, especially the family. This is a very grim and sad scene,’ said Sinn Féin Councillor Pat Fitzgerald.

Gardaí confirmed last night that they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery.

While the HSE said they were aware of the incident and investigation they could not make any further statement.

A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions and gardaí are said to be awaiting directions on potential charges.

An inquest into the baby’s death is not likely to take place until the DPP’s examination has been completed. The discovery comes just weeks after another newborn baby girl was found dead in the boot of a car in Offaly. The mother was said to have ‘hid her pregnancy’ from family and friends.

It is believed the baby later died from natural causes after a woman, aged in her early 20s, gave birth alone inside a car in Birr, Co. Offaly in late March.

Three days later, on March 29, the baby’s body was found in the car boot. A post-mortem was carried out at the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore, which determined the newborn’s cause of death. At the time a source told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘A baby died of natural causes in the area in recent weeks.

‘The child was born to a local woman but sadly the child was stillborn.

‘The woman in question became frightened following the birth and hid the child as nobody had known she was pregnant.’

However, weeks later gardaí decided the death would not result in an inquest after the county’s coroner revealed the baby had been stillborn.

‘Very grim and sad scene’