Baby girl dies after ‘being dropped by her foster mother’
A BABY has died from head injuries while in foster care.
Skyla Giller was allegedly dropped by her foster mother and taken to hospital in an unresponsive state.
The ten-month-old had brain surgery before doctors decided there was no hope.
Her natural mother, Sarah Giller, was brought to hospital to give consent for her life-support machine to be switched off.
The mother of four said: ‘I thought my baby would be safe in foster care. They are the sort of people who should be able to look after her. They failed my daughter and social services put my daughter in danger.’
Miss Giller, 30, allowed the foster parents – a married couple in their 30s or 40s – to witness Skyla’s final moments.
She said: ‘I wanted them to see what they had done. I was laid beside Skyla, stroking her head and holding her hand. It was only a matter of minutes before she died.’
She claimed that at one point in the hospital room the foster mother said to her partner: ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do this.’
Miss Giller said a consultant told her Skyla had been ‘dropped by her foster mother’, which may have caused the head injuries.
She added: ‘I got quite angry and asked them how has she come to be in this situation? How has the baby been dropped?’
She has been given no further information by police or social workers.
Skyla was born eight weeks prematurely in Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, last October, weighing 3lb 4oz.
She remained in hospital for two weeks but was said to have been healthy.
Miss Giller, who has had a troubled personal history, contested a social services application to take her into care but a judge ruled against her. She was stopped from seeing Skyla last April.
Ten days ago paramedics were called to a village near Huddersfield and Skyla was taken to Leeds General Infirmary. The next day Miss Giller was phoned by a social worker and told Skyla ‘had been taken to hospital and was extremely poorly’.
She went to hospital later that day. ‘It was devastating,’ said Miss Giller.
‘There were wires and things coming out of her head, nose and mouth with a huge cut on her head where they had done brain surgery.’
Miss Giller said her daughter had an emergency brain operation and was put on a ventilator in the intensive care unit.
However, the next morning she was told Skyla had deteriorated and doctors wanted to switch off her life-support machine.
Bradford coroner’s office confirmed it had been informed of the death and an inquest would be held.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said its inquiries were continuing. No arrests have been made.
Officials at Wakefield social services department made no comment last night.