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Nurse wrongly blamed for child death in ‘culture of cover up’
Raihana Awolaja, who had complex needs, died in 2023 at a residential home in Surrey after nursing staff left her unattended despite an established need for 24-hour, one-on-one care. The coroner concluded that the 12-year-old would likely not have died had appropriate observation been in place, adding there was an insufficient number of staff to provide the level of care Raihana had needed. The coroner said a ‘flawed investigation’ at The Children’s Trust, which runs the home, had ‘pushed blame onto an innocent individual’ – a nurse who was ‘referred to the NMC erroneously’. The trust said steps were being taken to address the failings identified by the coroner.
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