London hospital sees spike in child abuse during lockdown

A major London children’s hospital registered a 15-fold increase in the number of apparent child abuse cases it dealt with during the Covid-19 lockdown compared to previous years, researchers reported.

From March 23 to April 23 – corresponding to the height of self-isolation rules – the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children saw 10 infants ranging in age from two weeks to 13 months diagnosed with “abusive head trauma”.

In 2017, 2018 and 2019, the hospital reported an average of only 0.67 such cases over the same time period each year, Jai Sidpra from the London Medical School and four doctors from Great Ormond reported in Archives of Disease in Childhood, a medical journal, on Thursday.

Clinical examinations revealed symptoms including bleeding in the eyes, bruising and scalp swelling, while X-rays or CAT scans showed brain haemorrhaging, internal bleeding and skull fractures.

Immediately prior to examination, half of the infants were colic, 40% were on the edge of unconsciousness and 20% had had seizures, according to hospital records.

The real number of cases is likely to be even higher than reported due to public avoidance of hospitals during the pandemic, they added.

“Two parents cited fears of contracting Covid-19 as a reason for delayed presentation,” they wrote.

Though the cases were just at one hospital, the experts point to evidence suggesting the increase in such trauma could be happening across Britain and other countries.

Studies from several countries in recent weeks have shown an increase in stress, domestic violence, substance abuse and mental illness during strict stay-at-home lockdowns.