Great Ormond Street Hospital calls in cops after ‘staff receive death threats over treatment of terminally ill baby Charlie Gard’
GREAT Ormond Street Hospital has called in cops after staff received death threats over the Charlie Gard case.
Bosses said thousands of “shocking and disgraceful” abusive messages had been sent to doctors and nurses.
The hospital’s chairman Mary MacLeod said staff had been abused in the street and online — and even families visiting their sick kids were being harassed by tormentors.
GOSH is involved in a legal battle to switch off Charlie’s life support. The brain-damaged 11-month-old suffers from a rare genetic illness.
Ms MacLeod said the case is “heart-breaking” and the hospital understands that “emotions run high”.
But she said in recent weeks staff had been subjected to a “shocking and disgraceful tide of hostility and disturbance”.
She said: “Thousands of abusive messages have been sent to doctors and nurses whose life’s work is to care for sick children.
“Many of them are menacing, including death threats.
"Families have been harassed and discomforted while visiting their children, and we have received complaints of unacceptable behaviour even within the hospital itself.”
Ms MacLeod said the hospital had been in touch with cops over the “deplorable behaviour”.
Charlie’s parents Connie Yates, 31, and Chris Gard, 32, of Bedfont, West London, said they did not condone abuse and had also faced “nasty and hurtful remarks”.
They earlier distanced themselves from comments made to by Alasdair Seton-Marsden, who has represented the Gard family.
He claimed police action made by GOSH was a "cynical ploy".
This evening the family dismissed the accusations and said Seton-Marsden does not represent them.
Thousands of abusive messages have been sent to doctors and nurses whose life's work is to care for sick children.
Mary MacLeod
Tonight health secretary Jeremy Hunt stepped in - labelling the alleged abuse of Great Ormond Street doctors as "unacceptable".
He tweeted: "A sad, complex case but it's totally unacceptable that dedicated Drs & nurses at one of our great NHS institutions are suffering this abuse."
Despite losing several legal battles, his parents have vowed: "If he's still fighting, we're still fighting".
Yesterday Charlie's dad Chris shouted “evil” and his mum Connie burst into tears after being told a new MRI scan on the tot makes for “very sad reading”.
They were dealt the devastating blow by Katie Gollop QC, representing Great Ormond Street, at the High Court.
A Met Police spokesman this evening said: "Dedicated officers from the Central North Command Unit work closely with Great Ormond Street Hospital.
"There have been allegations made which are being investigated.
"Enquiries are ongoing. No arrests have been made at this time."
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