Carers sought for baby Charlotte as parents part

A SEVERELY disabled girl whose parents fought a long court battle for her right to live is to be fostered because the couple have separated.

Charlotte Wyatt, who is about to celebrate her third birthday despite doctors’ predictions that she would not live to see it, is stranded in hospital while social service officials struggle to find her a home.

Her mother, Debbie Wyatt, 25, admitted that she has seen Charlotte only three times since February but said that she has been “going through some problems”.

Her father, Darren Wyatt, 34, claims that he is willing to take care of his daughter but has not been provided with adequate support to do so.

He said: “Charlotte has been well enough to leave hospital for a while now. The doctors say it would be too much for me and social services can’t offer me the care package I need.”

Charlotte was born three months prematurely in October 2003, weighing only 1lb and with brain, lung and kidney damage. Doctors at St Mary’s Hospital in Portsmouth took the decision not to resuscitate her if her condition worsened.

Since then, Charlotte has made significant improvements and doctors decided in February that she was fit enough to leave hospital. However, her parents separated in January.

No suitable foster parents have been found despite an eight-month search. So Charlotte remains an inpatient at St Mary’s, where she will celebrate her birthday with a small party on her ward on Saturday. Her treatment costs about £300 a day, and has totalled an estimated £1.1 million so far.

Before their separation the Wyatts fought a legal campaign arguing that their daughter should be given artificial ventilation if necessary. The dispute is estimated to have cost the taxpayer £500,000.

Mr Wyatt said that he and his wife, who have three other young children together, might never have separated if they had been given “all the right support” earlier in Charlotte’s life. He said that his estranged wife now “says she does not want anything to do” with the child.

Mr Wyatt, who has three other children from a previous marriage, lives alone in a two-bedroom council flat in Portsmouth.

He said that his daughter’s case was in the hands of social services: “They are now looking for a foster home but finding someone will be very hard and until they find someone she will have to stay in hospital . . . It’s going to cost them [social services] a lot of money.”

Doctors are now measuring Charlotte’s life expectancy in months and years, rather than weeks and months, but she remains very ill.

Stuart Gallimore, head of safeguarding at Portsmouth City Council, said: “We are continuing to work with the family to ensure the best possible outcome for Charlotte, but it is not appropriate for us to comment further on the details of this case.”

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, which will continue to act as Charlotte’s carer until a suitable alternative can be found, refused to comment.