Nurse who deliberately poisoned young boy with 'industrial amounts' of laxatives is jailed for seven years

A nurse who deliberately poisoned a young boy with 'industrial amounts' of laxatives has today been jailed for seven years. 

Former NHS worker Tracy Menhinick, 52, was found guilty of 'wilfully' ill-treating the child in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or injury to health on various occasions over the course of three years from 2014.

The auxiliary nurse administered a non-prescribed medication, namely the laxative lactulose, which caused his development and mobility to be affected and led to him being admitted to hospital.

Menhinick, of Aberdeen, then consented to treatments, procedures and operations on the child which she knew were unnecessary, 'all to his permanent disfigurement, permanent impairment and to the danger of his life', the indictment said.

The boy, who cannot be named, was said to have been left looking like 'someone from Auschwitz' following his ordeal. 

Menhinick was convicted in February following a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen. 

Menhinick, who appeared at a court in a wheelchair and is now said to be bed-bound, was jailed for seven years when she appeared for sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday.

The ill-treatment happened on various occasions when the boy was aged between three and six at an address in Aberdeen, at Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital and elsewhere.

Judge Lady Drummond recalled a witness describing the boy as 'emaciated' during the trial. 

The judge told Menhinick: 'You caused him to be in that state.' 

The boy had been admitted to Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital in October 2016 amid concerns for his weight loss. Menhinick was being observed by child protection officers but no evidence was then found of her poisoning the child.

Asked by Mr Kearney what conclusions he had drawn, Dr Sullivan said: 'He had been administered significant quantities of lactulose. If an industrial dose is given... he would become extremely unwell.'

Menhinick was removed from caring for the boy after a test result from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London confirmed lactulose was present.

Dr Sullivan said the boy's condition then 'dramatically' improved and he concluded Munchausen's Syndrome by proxy was the reason.

The court also heard a bottle of lactulose had been found following a search of Menhinick's house.

Great Ormond Street Hospital's Dr Keith Findley said the child looked like 'someone from Auschwitz' because he was so thin.

The trial was presented with 5,500 pages of evidence and medical records. 

The sentencing was initially delayed so that a psychiatric report about Menhinick could be prepared.

Judge Lady Drummond had been told my Menhinick's defence that she had a 'package of mental health problems'.

Frances Connor, representing Menhinick, previously said: 'It would be difficult to see how Ms Menhinick's diagnoses could not have impacted on her behaviour given the nature of the offence.'

Jurors found Menhinick guilty of ill-treating the boy and administering non-prescribed medicines between April 1, 2014, and July 21, 2017.