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A former NHS worker has been jailed for giving a young boy “industrial amounts” of laxatives, which left him emaciated and with severe physical scarring.
Tracy Menhinick, from Aberdeen, poisoned the child while he was aged between three and six, with one expert witness stating that he looked like a survivor of a concentration camp when he was admitted to hospital.
Her victim may not achieve his full growth potential as a result of her abuse, and is expected to have psychological difficulties after being given “dangerous” levels of the drugs, which caused him to be resuscitated.
The former auxilliary nurse then consented to treatments, procedures and operations on him which she knew were unnecessary “all to his permanent disfigurement, permanent impairment and to the danger of his life”.
Following a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen, she was found guilty of “wilfully” ill-treating the child in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or injury to health on various occasions over the course of three years from 2014.
The child was admitted to hospital and has been left with permanent disfigurement (Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)
She has now been jailed for seven years when she appeared for sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday.
The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was taken to hospital in October 2016 following concerns for his weight loss and explosive diarrhoea.
Under observation by hospital staff, it was discovered that he would drastically deteriorate when under Menhinick’s care, and a test result confirmed lactulose was present in his stool sample.
The ill-treatment happened on various occasions at an address in Aberdeen, at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and elsewhere.
Sentencing Menhinick, Judge Lady Drummond said it was “beyond understanding” why anybody would want to inflict such severe harm and suffering on a child over a number of years.
She said: “The amount of laxatives he was being given by you were such that at times he would have floppy episodes where he became limp and had to be resuscitated.
“You agreed that he should undergo intrusive and risky operations knowing that these were unnecessary and that the need for them had been caused by you.
A psychiatric report found that she suffered from a mental and a personality disorder (Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)
“You were an auxiliary nurse and knew what you were doing. Even once admitted to hospital you continued to give him dangerous levels of laxatives.
“Why anybody would want to inflict such severe harm and suffering, endangering the life of a young child on multiple occasions over a period of years is beyond understanding.”
Lady Drummond said that doctors were left “baffled” about why the child’s condition did not improve despite treatment.
One of the doctors who gave evidence in the case described the boy as being “emaciated” on his last admission to hospital.
The judge told Menhinick she had abused people’s trust, and that her ill treatment of the boy has had a “devastating impact on his life” and has left him with severe physical scarring.
A psychiatric report found that Menhinick suffers from mental disorders and a personality disorder but does not require hospital treatment.
Lady Drummond said that Menhinick’s motivations for her actions are “unclear”.
Frances Connor, representing Menhinick, said that the 52-year-old has suffered from a number of mental and physical health issues from an early age.
She said that according to a risk assessment, Menhinick does not pose a risk to the public.
Menhinick, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, sobbed as the sentence was delivered on Tuesday.
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