Baby found ’emaciated’ 19 days after social services closed case

An “incredibly emaciated” and starving baby, covered in sores, was taken to hospital in a critical condition 19 days after social services closed her case, a review has found.

The 19-month-old girl weighed 9.7lb (4.4kg) – less than half the 24lb (11kg) expected for an average child of her age – when she was treated in February 2025.

A Child Safeguarding Practice Review (CSPR) in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, reported the girl was severely dehydrated, had no fatty tissue noted on her body and had “paper-thin skin”.

The case was closed despite warnings her mother, who was 17 when the baby was born, was neglecting her daughter and had avoided social workers and health visitors for weeks.

The CSPR, which referred to the girl as Child K1, said she displayed “skin breakdown” across the “entirety” of her bottom and nappy area.

Expert reviewer Nicki Walker-Hall said medics found “wasting to the buttocks” and open pressure sores extending along her back, hips and bottom.

She wrote: “Child K1’s presentation of hypothermia, hypoglycaemia [low blood sugar], severe malnutrition, dehydration along with renal failure, evidenced by severe abnormality of blood salts, could have led to death if it had not been identified and emergency treatment initiated.”