Mother 'held like a prisoner for three days' as hospital staff threatened to call police over baby's radiator burn



A mother has spoken of how she was 'held like a prisoner' in a hospital, after her baby was burned by a radiator.

Hospital staff suspected Mandy Stopler of abusing daughter Madison, after the 10-month-old suffered an inch-long burn on her bottom.



The 26-year-old was told that the police would be called if she tried to leave the hospital with her daughter. Madison endured 18 X-rays and two distressing brain scans in order to ensure that she had not come to harm at the hands of her mother.



Mandy Stopler was held in hospital for three days after staff suspected her of abusing 10-month-old daughter Madison



Despite the hospital's fears, mother and daughter slept in the same room, but were checked upon every four hours to make sure Madison was not being abused.

Both social services and Madison's health visitor had provided the hospital with a glowing reference for the mother, however Miss Stopler and her daughter were only allowed to leave the hospital after doctors were satisfied with the results of the tests.

'I expected to be in the hospital for a few hours while Madison was treated for the burn mark,' said Miss Stopler. 'But they weren't interested in that at all, in fact they didn't even give her any cream or anything.'

'I ended up being held like a prisoner for three days and threatened with arrest if I tried to leave with Madison.



'Madison is a very happy baby, she is the world to me and hasn't got a bruise on her.



'I can understand the hospital being extra-cautious in the wake of the Baby P scandal but Baby P went to the doctors 16 times with injuries and bruises.

'My daughter had nothing like that and has no history with social services.'



Suspect: Miss Stopler had rushed baby Madison to hospital after suffering a minor burn on a radiator pipe



Madison's injury was caused when she was crawling around her bedroom without her nappy on. The 10-month-old accidentally burnt her bottom on the radiator pipe while her mother was running her bath.

Miss Stopler had just moved into the house in Bournemouth, Dorset, and her father had been due to lag the bare pipe the very next day.

She had taken Madison to the doctor, but was referred to Poole Hospital. Doctors there waited five hours to treat the minor injury before telling Miss Stopler she was 'under caution'.

Miss Stopler, a cleaner, said: 'After five hours a doctor said to me that I was under suspicion of child neglect or abuse.

'I was told I wasn't allowed to take her home otherwise they would call the police who would bring us straight back. I was in total shock.



'I think they thought I had been shaking her and she had some internal injuries.

'She had X-ray after X-ray and she was so distressed when she had the brain scans.



'She had to be starved from 7am to 2pm because she had to be sedated for the scans.



'They were pulling her about because she was struggling. She was screaming and I was in tears and so was my mother who was with us.'



Miss Stopler was told that she could leave the hospital, but not with her daughter and so lived there for the three days. 'A mother would never leave her baby, never,' she said.

'At night they locked us in a room and checked on us every four hours to make sure I hadn't harmed her.

'They came in and switched the lights on, woke Madison up, picked her up and checked her temperature.'



On the day Madison left the hospital Miss Stopler returned to her home to meet with social workers. 'I was glad when the social services got involved because I knew there was nothing wrong with Madison,' she said.



'Madison's health visitor, who I see once a week, kept calling the hospital to say what a good mother I was.'

Miss Stopler is now seeking an apology for her and her daughter's three day ordeal. 'Nobody has said sorry to me and they aren't going to,' she said.

'Are they going to treat every parent who takes their child into hospital in this way in the future? 'Now I'm scared to go back if Madison so much as grazes herself.'



A spokesman for Poole Hospital said: 'We take the welfare and safety of children very seriously.

'When a child presents with injuries we need to be absolutely sure that those injuries are accidental.



'There are clear policies and procedures which we must observe.



'We realise that this may be disturbing for the parents or family but the safety of the child is our priority.'