A disturbing case of potential child abuse has emerged from Sheffield Children’s Hospital, where a mother was found to have deliberately harmed her teenage daughter by administering unprescribed medications over an extended period.
The Family Court hearing revealed that from September 2019 to February 2021, the mother, identified as MR, repeatedly drugged her daughter with ibuprofen and piroxicam, a strong painkiller. The girl, now 15, suffered severe medical consequences, including multiple blood transfusions, gastric tube insertions, and invasive medical procedures.
The judge concluded that the medications caused significant harm, including abdominal pain, inflammation, nausea, vomiting, stomach ulcers, and gastrointestinal bleeding. The girl also experienced recurrent diarrhoea after being given laxatives. Her medical condition became so critical that she was unable to eat or drink normally and required extensive hospital treatment.
The case involved three children from different families who were long-term patients at the hospital during 2020 and 2021. All three children presented with chronic digestive illnesses and required intravenous nutrition. They experienced an unusually high number of bacterial infections, leading to life-threatening sepsis.
Medical professionals suspected fabricated or induced illness (FII), a rare form of child abuse where a parent deliberately causes or exaggerates a child’s medical symptoms. However, while the girl’s mother was found to have harmed her daughter, the mothers of two other children were cleared of wrongdoing.
The investigation into MR revealed additional complexity. She had a history of unexplained medical treatments, including “pseudo-seizures” questioned by clinicians and her family. She was also on strong pain medication and had mental health issues.
The judge noted that COVID-19 hospital restrictions created an “intense and unhealthy” relationship between mother and daughter, enabling harmful behaviors to develop. Remarkably, even after her mother’s arrest, the girl continued taking ibuprofen, seemingly attempting to cover for her mother.
In April 2021, the girl was discharged to her father and grandparents’ care. She now attends school but continues to experience abdominal pain and remains under medical supervision.
The hospital acknowledged the case, with Dr. Jeff Perring, the executive medical director, emphasizing that this was a fact-finding hearing and not an investigation into the hospital’s conduct.
The judge also criticized the hospital’s handling of the case, noting that national guidelines were not fully followed when referring the mothers to social services and police. The initial narrative assumed the mothers’ guilt without thoroughly gathering evidence.
This case highlights the complex and devastating potential of fabricated or induced illness, demonstrating the severe psychological and physical harm that can result from a caregiver’s deliberate actions.
