A paediatrician and her surgeon partner have been charged with child neglect over claims they left their toddler son outside a busy bar on a chilly autumn night.What the hell is it with doctors!?!
Suzanne Wills and consultant Graeme Smith are alleged to have left the three-year-old boy strapped into a bicycle trailer while they remained inside the bar.
Following a complaint, the couple were quizzed by police and later charged with offences under the Children and Young Persons Act.Oh, right. Mistaken identity, then? It was some other couple?
However the pair, who live in Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, deny neglecting their son and said the whole affair was the result of a misunderstanding.
It’s not entirely clear from their statement:
In a statement they said: ‘We love our son dearly. We have never and would never do anything to harm him.Sounds like a thinly-veiled ‘Don’t you know who we are? We aren’t some council-estate dwellers! How dare you judge us? It’s our job to judge you!’ to me…
‘We deny this allegation, which we find horrifying. We believe the charge to be due to a misunderstanding.
‘Our lawyers are seeking a meeting with the Crown to put matters right. We have taken the appropriate steps to inform the medical authorities.’
One festival-goer said she had seen the couple earlier in the evening. She said: ‘The child was in the bar for a while but it was mobbed and there was a lot of noise.So all they had to do was get a babysitter in advance, or remove themselves from their cozy evening of merriment and put their child’s welfare first. Is that too hard?
‘Many people had a lot to drink and it was perhaps not the best environment for a young kid.’
My father told me that it used to be common for children to hang around outside the pubs their parents were in. I think there's a scene in Kes where that happens. But that was in the days when people looked out for and told off other people's kids.
ReplyDelete"....the McCann Award for Good Parenting, goes to..."
ReplyDeleteA snarl with all the qualities of the classic meeting fart, Julia.
However the pair, who live in Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, deny neglecting their son and said the whole affair was the result of a misunderstanding. The bar staff would not let the wee bastard smoke IN the pub, so what was it meant to do?
ReplyDeleteFollow ups to...
ReplyDelete'What the hell is it with doctors!?!'
ReplyDeleteOr, more specifically - and I know I'm sticking my neck out here - Scottish doctors.
It was standard practice in the (Scottish) town where I grew up to leave small children in the house alone at night - a neighbour would be asked to drop in every now and then and check all was quiet.
The horrified reaction of 'over-fussy' English incomers caused much amusement among the local lawyers, teachers and - yes - doctors.
Were these pair on holiday with the McCanns?
ReplyDeleteDaily Mail after the paediatricians again?
ReplyDeleteAny foxes round there by any chance?
Plenty of dingoes.
ReplyDelete”My father told me that it used to be common for children to hang around outside the pubs their parents were in. ”
ReplyDeleteYup. Different times, different attitudes.
”The horrified reaction of 'over-fussy' English incomers caused much amusement among the local lawyers, teachers and - yes - doctors.”
And yet, they are the ones most responsible for fostering the 'It's everyone's business to inform' attitude. Nice to see it bite them for a change.