Baby died after exposure to drugs, inquest told

A 10-week-old baby who died after being exposed to heroin and cocaine was found to be "unkempt and smelly" when she was taken to hospital, an inquest has heard.

Phoebe-Rose Douglas died at Royal Stoke University Hospital on 29 October 2019, weeks after moving to the area from West Yorkshire.

An inquest, which opened this week at Swann House in Stoke-on-Trent, heard that medical staff raised concerns about Phoebe-Rose's "unclean" condition on arrival.

The inquest was told that tests on the day of her death found cocaine in her urine. Analysis of hair samples indicated she had been exposed to cocaine, heroin and cannabis.

The inquest was previously told that the drugs may have been ingested through inhalation of smoke or dust, or through contact with contaminated surfaces.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Deborah Stalker said the baby was "unkempt and she was unclean", adding that she was "smelly" and had dirt under her fingernails, feet and in the creases of her arms and neck.

On 25 October 2019, Phoebe-Rose's mother had woken at about 5am, picked her up and found her to be floppy. West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to the address in Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, and found Phoebe-Rose in cardiac arrest.

She was resuscitated and admitted to the hospital's paediatric intensive unit but scans revealed she had suffered severe brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen, and she died on October 29 after life support was removed.

Dr Roger Malcolmson, a consultant paediatric and perinatal pathologist, told the inquest the baby's brain was swollen, consistent with oxygen deprivation.

"There was no evidence of external injuries of any significance that would suggest a pattern of physical abuse", he said. "There was no obvious underlying cause. I think the biggest risk factor for this death we can identify from the history is maternal drug use and smoking."

The inquest was told that Phoebe-Rose had missed immunisations and a routine health check and that concerns about her parents had been raised with social services before she was born, including in July 2019 over their housing conditions. They were evicted from the property and drug paraphernalia was later found there.

Phoebe-Rose was born in Halifax in August 2019 and moved to Stoke-on-Trent with her mother a month later.

Her parents, Rachel Bourne and John Douglas, admitted child cruelty and were sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court in 2024.

Bourne, who was 34 at the time, was jailed for 31 months, while Douglas, then 39, received a 10-month sentence, suspended for two years.

The court was told the couple had used illegal drugs while Phoebe-Rose was in the house but there was no suggestion they had given drugs to her.

Phoebe-Rose's grandmother said at the time that her death had left "a constant pain" that would remain for the rest of her life.

The inquest continues.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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