Auto Amazon Links: No products found.
The hospital that did not alert authorities regarding injuries sustained by Preston Davey prior to his death has now faced criticism related to another tragic case involving a toddler who was also killed by his father. Thirteen-month-old Preston, adopted by Jamie Varley—a high school teacher from Blackpool—was subjected to sexual and physical abuse before he died on 27 July 2023. Following Varley’s trial, which provoked widespread public outrage, an independent review was launched to assess how various agencies responded to the situation.
There are growing demands to expand this investigation to include the case of two-year-old Damion Russell. In June 2023, Damion was seen at Blackpool Victoria Hospital just one day before Preston made his third and final visit to the emergency department. Damion was later murdered by his father, Daniel Hardcastle, in August, in what the court described as an exceptionally violent attack. Hardcastle, aged 31, had recently been granted sole custody of his son before the fatal incident.
During sentencing at Preston Crown Court, the judge noted that Damion had suffered a brain injury and was found covered in multiple injuries from head to toe, including an adult bite mark. Hardcastle was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years in July 2024. A safeguarding review conducted in November into Damion’s case revealed that although a bruise was noticed on the toddler’s head by medical staff, his father was not questioned about the injury. The Blackpool Safeguarding Children Partnership highlighted that this was not in line with the expected standards of practice. Similarly, in Preston’s case, his father Varley had shown medical staff a video purporting to explain bruising, but it was later determined to have been recorded 12 days earlier, making it irrelevant to recent injuries.
Both Preston and Damion had recently been removed from foster care and placed with the parents who ultimately caused their deaths. Blackpool’s coroners’ services are able to investigate whether other factors contributed to these fatalities but have closed Damion’s case while Preston’s remains open. Local MPs have called for a public inquiry into potential safeguarding failures, with Chris Webb, Blackpool South’s Labour MP, stating, “We need to do better, and we know that the state has been failing these young kids, young babies.” Friends of Damion’s biological mother have also urged that any inquiry should cover his death as well, expressing concerns that Damion’s case has not received adequate attention compared to Preston’s.
The trust operating Blackpool Victoria Hospital acknowledged the need to improve procedures and assure families of their commitment to safeguarding. It confirmed that efforts were already in progress prior to the publication of the review into Damion’s case, aimed at supporting staff in the Emergency Department and other pediatric care areas to conduct thorough examinations and confidently ask necessary questions about any injuries. The trust’s chief executive, Maggie Oldham, emphasized their responsibility, saying, “Families bringing their children to our hospital can expect our teams to ask questions about any bumps, bruises or other injuries identified, whether recent or older.” She added that a full examination is carried out in the Emergency Department, especially for non-walking babies
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.