Couple accused of abusing son after bungling ‘experts’ miss baby’s allergy
AN angry couple told yesterday how they were wrongly accused of child abuse after experts mistook their baby’s milk allergy skin blotches for signs of assault.
Marc Sutherland, 33, and Natalie Whyte, 28, asked for medical advice when seven-week-old Callan developed strange red and purple marks on his face.
But instead of testing for allergies, a team of doctors, experts and police quizzed them – suggesting one of them had hurt the tot.
Revealing their ordeal, Mr Sutherland said he was even arrested and questioned under caution by police.
Yesterday the angry father, of Auchleven, Aberdeenshire, was demanding an apology.
He said: “We were put through two months of hell because they didn’t test for his allergies the day we went into the hospital.”
The ordeal started when health experts said the frequently screaming baby was suffering from serious colic.
Ms Whyte, also mother to sevenyear-old Lucy, said: “We knew it wasn’t just that – every feed he’d be agitated and scream the house down.”
In May Ms Whtye again spoke to a health visitor who asked if Lucy could be hurting Callan.
Ms Whyte added: “She asked if Lucy could have hurt her brother or if I felt safe leaving the baby alone with my husband.”
That evening at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Mr Sutherland was informed he was being investigated for child abuse.
Ms Whyte said: “We were interviewed by 22 different people. We couldn’t be around either of our children unsupervised.”
Mr Sutherland was arrested, cautioned, held for four hours and quizzed by Police Scotland.
It was only after the couple sought a second opinion that a dairy-intolerance was diagnosed.
Ms Whyte said: “I can’t believe we had to go through all that torment. Someone should have picked up that he was allergic to milk.”
Concerns
A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said: “Ms Whyte and her family have raised their concerns directly with us.
“As this matter is currently under investigation it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.”
Detective Inspector David Howieson, of Police Scotland, said: “When concerns about children are raised to police, no matter the nature, they must be taken seriously until the full circumstances are established.
“In this case a report was received from a partner agency and inquiries were subsequently carried out, with all those involved updated at each stage.”