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No charges over baby hospital death

No-one is to be charged with a criminal offence over the case of a baby girl who died in hospital only hours after being born, police have said.

Caitlin Coyne died at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro on Christmas Day 2003, and a subsequent inquest in Truro found that several “serious failures” in care led to the tragedy.

Coroner Andrew Walker added that various warning signs were missed after she was delivered by emergency Caesarean section.

A criminal investigation was then conducted into the case after the hearing, and the findings were forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service for a decision on any potential prosecution.
But a Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: “It has been decided that no criminal charges should result in connection with the death of baby Caitlin.”

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Caitlin’s father Wayne Coyne, from Falmouth, said: “It is very difficult for us to come to terms with. Our life has been a living hell.”

He added that he and his wife Karen cannot afford to take the case any further because they owe tens of thousands of pounds in legal fees.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust said at the time of the inquest that it had taken steps to improve its care procedures.

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