A SENIOR doctor who treated a baby allegedly left with brain injuries after being shaken ruled out a disease as a possible cause, a court heard.
Dr Michael Roe, consultant paediatrician at Southampton General Hospital, rejected a claim the baby could have suffered the effects of a rare clotting disorder.
Southampton Crown Court heard how Dr Roe had been called to the paediatric intensive care unit after scans found the baby had suffered brain bleeds and three fractured ribs.
In his evidence, he told how he became “highly concerned that this was a non-accidental injury”.
He said tests had been carried out for a rare disorder called Glutaric acidemia type 1, which can lead to brain damage.
However, he said that this would not explain the fractured ribs and there would have been evidence that the baby had been suffering from what would be a life-long condition.
Daniel Holdaway, 21, of Clovelly Road, St Mary’s, Southampton, is charged with three counts of grievous bodily harm on a baby on three separate occasions over a two-month period.
Prosecutors say Holdaway caused the “serious injuries” by “deliberately” and “excessively”
shaking the baby.
Holdaway denies all charges.
The court heard how he was with the child when it seemed to spontaneously gasp and then stop breathing before being admitted to hospital.
Proceeding
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