Posted on 06/02/2006 5:59:12 PM PDT by wagglebee
THE heartbroken parents of the stillborn baby girl who went missing from a Sydney hospital are bracing themselves for the worst possible news – their daughter was accidentally thrown away.
Blacktown Hospital's most senior executive has told the family the most likely scenario is the baby was disposed of in "a tragic mistake".
The 33-year-old mother from Western Sydney gave birth to a girl she later named Angelina in an ambulance on the way to Blacktown Hospital three weeks ago.
Nine days later she was told by a hospital priest that the baby had "gone missing".
The Daily Telegraph yesterday asked Western Sydney Area Health Service chief executive Stephen Boyages if he expected the investigation would conclude Angelina had been disposed of and he was forced to concede this was the most likely scenario.
"I have indicated to the parents that is my expectation," he said.
"We unreservedly apologise for what appears to be a tragic mistake."
The distressed father of the baby said yesterday the family is desperate for an explanation.
"We don't know who we can trust. We can't trust anybody," he said.
The family said they had come to terms with the death of their daughter but could never recover from the loss of her body and added "life could not be that cruel".
"We have nothing left," they said in a statement.
Despite four investigations into the disappearance, Blacktown Hospital is still clueless as to how the mistake could have been made and are calling the blunder "a systems error".
"Usually a system error, our systems have not been strong enough," Professor Boyages said. "We will leave no stone uncovered until we determine how this situation can arise."
Yet The Daily Telegraph understands hospital staff knew the baby was missing on May 19 – five days after she was born – but did not tell the family until three days later.
Opposition spokeswoman Jillian Skinner said the baby's disappearance has been "shrouded in secrecy".
An internal hospital report was handed to the State Government last Friday but was unable to even get the baby's birthdate or age correct.
"We know the birthdate was May 14, we know that the baby was stillborn at 24 weeks," Professor Boyages said.
But the mother actually gave birth on May 13 and has said Angelina was 28 weeks old.
An investigation is being conducted by an independent party who will deliver their findings on Tuesday.
Professor Boyages said if the finding is that Angelina was thrown away by mistake there is no way of proving how and when it happened.
Angelina's father said the last time they saw their daughter was when she was taken from the arms of her sleeping mother, hours after she was stillborn on the way to hospital.
"All we want is answers. That's all. (Political promises) don't mean anything," he said.
JUST DAMN.
Maybe? because babies bodies are being tossed in the trash on a daily basis in this culture of abortion - just one more body - nothing unusual/
Truly, if this mass murder isn't stopped, this world will reap the whirlwind/
I've heard "don't throw the baby out with the bath water," but I never thought it would happen.
Am I the only one wondering whether the person who threw the baby away votes?
Did they see their baby? Do they know for sure she died?
No, mate. CRIKEY!
There are funeral homes that offer free cremation services to mothers of stillborn babies. My daughter went through that last year. She has decided to get one of those "Build-a-Bear" dolls that they sell at the mall made to store the ashes of her son inside.
This Australian case adds insult to injury. The loss of a child is bad enough, but now their loss has been compounded.
Voting is compulsory in Australia, so almost certainly.
Yes, they did see their baby, and they know she was stillborn. As bad as this is, it's not that bad.
"Yes, they did see their baby, and they know she was stillborn. As bad as this is, it's not that bad."
I am not sure what you meant by that.
Losing a baby then having it "disappear" would be devastating. To say the least. Actually, there is no word in the english language to describe how devastating it would be.
I'm sure that to the parents losing a child is losing a child, no matter what the age.
My sympathies for their loss.
What I meant by it was simple - somebody asked if they saw their baby's body - which seemed to me to be speculating on the possibility that this was more than just a matter of the body being lost, but perhaps the parents had been mislead about the very facts of how their child died.
Yes, this is an horrific case of negligence - but there is a difference between negligence in losing the child's body, and if there was negligence involved that lead to the child's death.
Sold more likely.
"somebody asked if they saw their baby's body - which seemed to me to be speculating on the possibility that this was more than just a matter of the body being lost}
I was thinking more along the lines of the baby being used for harvesting. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.
Also, I worked in a hospital in So Cal about 25 years ago. During a routine inspection, a baby was found in one of the refigerated morgue drawers. It has been accidentally pushed aside and forgotten. I'm not sure if the parents had asked for a hospital disposal or if they had been told that the baby had been lost, as in this case. Either way, it was hard to take. I guess my point is that it does happen, probably more often that we know.
I am just horrified for these parents. Shame on that hospital!
The black community is already reaping it. They have virtually aborted the next generation and stand to have their "Most Favored Minority" status taken away and give to the illegal aliens. Statistics say that one in three pregnancies among black women end in abortion.
It's been my experience that just when you think you've heard about the most terrible thing you'll ever hear, something worse comes along within a week.
What happens to hospital waste in Australia? Is it incinerated or buried? It's considered hazardous waste here. Don't really know what happens to it after it's bagged and marked 'hazardous' though. Digging through tons of it searching for a preemie's body would be a horrible job, almost unthinkable. Still, I'm a little surprised the authorities aren't willing to do it (therefore, the Aussies must incinerate it???). It is a human being, after all and she deserves more respect than being thrown out with the garbage.
Perhaps digging through the hazardous waste would be satisfactory punishment for the people who did it? Just fit them up in hazmat scuba gear, and off they go to the pools of infectious goop.
That's not fair. I'm sure that the hospital staff just made a mistake. No one would intentionally throw out an infant's corpse, if for no other reason than to avoid a lawsuit.
Incinerated - because, yes, otherwise people would be looking. It wouldn't be a pleasant job but similar things have been done before. Near where I live, it was necessary a couple of years ago to search through a garbage tip for an infants body after her father murdered the child and her mother - I'm a volunteer firefighter and we all volunteered. So did volunteers of the State Emergency Service, and members of a nearby golf club. People would do this now if there was anywhere to look.
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