CHARLOTTE LEE IN SEATON, DEVON, SENTENCED FOR ENDANGERING TODDLER WITH MORPHINE AT ROYAL DEVON AND EXETER HOSPITAL

In September 2017, Charlotte Lee, aged 21, attempted to poison a young child at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital by secretly adding a dangerous dose of morphine to the child's drinks.

Lee, from Seaton, Devon, used potent painkillers to spike bottles of Lucozade and Fruit Shoot, which she left with the toddler over three days during her hospital visits. The child's condition worsened, with their breathing slowing and almost losing consciousness, prompting emergency care in a paediatric high dependency unit.

Medical staff identified the issue when the child's urine tested positive for opiates and when nurses sent the spiked drink bottles for analysis. The Fruit Shoot bottle contained morphine at levels four times the safe limit for a child and was potentially lethal even to an adult weighing eleven stone.

Lee initially lied to healthcare professionals, claiming that the child's natural father was responsible for bringing the spiked drinks into the hospital. She also suffered from a psychological disorder that led her to believe the drugs were beneficial rather than harmful to the child.

In court, Lee admitted to administering a poison with the intent to endanger the child's life in February of the previous year. Recorder David Bartlett sentenced her to two years in prison, suspended for two years, along with a requirement for psychiatric counselling and 35 days of rehabilitation activities.

During the sentencing, the judge stated, 'It may be this was done with the best of intentions. It was certainly reckless, and you failed to consider the effect of administering morphine to the child without knowing what it might do. You risked the infant's life in those few days.' He further emphasized her misconduct in trying to force the child to drink a blackcurrant mixture containing morphine and attempting to shift blame onto the child's father, which was described as a 'wicked lie' that worsened her offence.

The judge noted that her actions stemmed from concern for the child's wellbeing, though they were reckless and dangerous. Although there was no evidence of deliberate intent to cause serious harm, the risk was clear. The court took into account her remorse, her acceptance of guilt, and the fact that she was receiving help.

Prosecutor Peter Coombe recounted that the toddler was initially admitted for a suspected urinary disorder in February 2016. The child's condition initially improved but then rapidly declined after drinking from the bottles brought in by Lee. Tests confirmed traces of morphine in the child's urine, and nurses observed Lee trying to give the child blackcurrant juice she had mixed in a toilet cubicle, after being warned not to give any more drinks.

Lee claimed the child's pickiness about drinks was due to a 'special drink,' despite the child's own remark that the fruit drink was 'yukky.' She denied poisoning the child, asserting that the spiked drink had been brought in by the child's father. Police found her in possession of an almost empty bottle of Oramorph, a painkiller she had used, which strongly indicated she had tampered with the child's medication.