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| Inquiry call over methadone baby | Inquiry call over methadone baby |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| A councillor has called for an inquiry into the "shocking case" of a mother in Gwynedd who bottle fed her baby the heroin substitute methadone | A councillor has called for an inquiry into the "shocking case" of a mother in Gwynedd who bottle fed her baby the heroin substitute methadone |
| Nia Wyn Jones, 30, of Caernarfon, was jailed for three years after a judge heard she added potentially lethal amounts of the drug to milk. | Nia Wyn Jones, 30, of Caernarfon, was jailed for three years after a judge heard she added potentially lethal amounts of the drug to milk. |
| Peter Read, vice chairman of Gwynedd council's care scrutiny committee, said lessons could be learned. | Peter Read, vice chairman of Gwynedd council's care scrutiny committee, said lessons could be learned. |
| The hospital where the baby was treated said staff acted quickly. | |
| Judge Merfyn Hughes at Caernarfon Crown Court heard the baby was being given the equivalent of a "full bag of heroin" every day. | Judge Merfyn Hughes at Caernarfon Crown Court heard the baby was being given the equivalent of a "full bag of heroin" every day. |
| The mother's actions were uncovered when the baby was admitted to hospital on Christmas Eve. | The mother's actions were uncovered when the baby was admitted to hospital on Christmas Eve. |
| The judge told Jones: "You could easily have killed her. She's lucky to have survived." | The judge told Jones: "You could easily have killed her. She's lucky to have survived." |
| She had admitted supplying methadone and ill-treating the child. | She had admitted supplying methadone and ill-treating the child. |
| The serious question is should it have been detected in the baby any earlier? Doctor Richard Pates, clinical director of the Drug & Alcohol Services in Cardiff | The serious question is should it have been detected in the baby any earlier? Doctor Richard Pates, clinical director of the Drug & Alcohol Services in Cardiff |
| The court heard that Jones, a drug user, had obtained the methadone on the black market, in an attempt to get herself off heroin. | The court heard that Jones, a drug user, had obtained the methadone on the black market, in an attempt to get herself off heroin. |
| Councillor Peter Read said social services were under a lot of pressure and realistically could not be expected to keep track on everyone, especially if they were trying to avoid being picked up. | Councillor Peter Read said social services were under a lot of pressure and realistically could not be expected to keep track on everyone, especially if they were trying to avoid being picked up. |
| But he said he thought there could be lessons for the department. | But he said he thought there could be lessons for the department. |
| The baby was treated at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor and a spokesman for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which runs the hospital, said: "All health staff involved have been exceptional in their observations of the baby and acted quickly, with the baby's well being as the complete focus of their attention." | |
| Dr Richard Pates, clinical director of the Drug and Alcohol Services in Cardiff, said it was "a very serious case." | Dr Richard Pates, clinical director of the Drug and Alcohol Services in Cardiff, said it was "a very serious case." |
| "The serious question is should it have been detected in the baby any earlier?" he told BBC Radio Wales. | "The serious question is should it have been detected in the baby any earlier?" he told BBC Radio Wales. |
| "Nasty case" | "Nasty case" |
| "It would not necessarily have been easy to detect in the child except the child, one would have thought, would have been unusually placid which would have been the effect of taking methadone. | "It would not necessarily have been easy to detect in the child except the child, one would have thought, would have been unusually placid which would have been the effect of taking methadone. |
| "It's a bit of a surprise it was not picked up by health visitors before then but I would not want to lay the blame at them because it's too easy without knowing the circumstances." | "It's a bit of a surprise it was not picked up by health visitors before then but I would not want to lay the blame at them because it's too easy without knowing the circumstances." |
| But he added: "We must be carful not to over-react and think this is happening all over Wales. | But he added: "We must be carful not to over-react and think this is happening all over Wales. |
| "I think this is a very isolated case and a very nasty case." | "I think this is a very isolated case and a very nasty case." |
| The court was told medical teams had to continue treating the child with other opium-based drugs, because she had developed a dependency on the methadone | The court was told medical teams had to continue treating the child with other opium-based drugs, because she had developed a dependency on the methadone |
| It heard there remained a risk of permanent damage to the baby's brain but that would only be established as she grew up. | It heard there remained a risk of permanent damage to the baby's brain but that would only be established as she grew up. |