Gov. Romney blames ''systemic failure'' in 12-year-old girl's case

Gov. Romney blames ''systemic failure'' in 12-year-old girl's case
BOSTON - Glaring errors by state agencies and medical professionals resulted in the negligent care given to 12-year-old Haleigh Poutre, after she was left severely brain damaged following a beating, a report by a panel investigating into the case has found. Gov. Mitt Romney had ordered the panel to investigate the case.

Haleigh is in state custody since being hospitalized in September last year after being subjected to a beating allegedly by her adoptive mother and stepfather. The state had appealed to a court and had won the right to remove her life support and let her die, but before that could happen, the girl began breathing on her own and is currently housed in a rehabilitation center. "As the Haleigh Poutre case demonstrates, errors in human judgment occur.

What is unusual is how many people involved in Haleigh's care _ medical professionals, case workers and administrators from many disciplines _ made errors," Romney confirmed in a statement. The three-member panel investigating into the case recommended that Social Services Department must seek a second opinion from a physician other than the one from the hospital where the patient is housed before removing life-support systems.

Among the recommendations that Gov. Romney pledged to implement is one, which mandates that hospitals have child abuse support teams on their staff. The panel said DSS must seek a ruling from a judge before proceeding to withdraw vital life support and obtain more information from doctors before doing so.

Former state health commissioner Christine Ferguson, who chaired the panel said, ''Child protection service does not exist in a vacuum. Haleigh's case represents a frightening confluence of a healthcare system ignorant of abuse and a child-protection system ignorant of medicine."

Haleigh's adoptive mother was later killed in a murder/suicide just six months after being released on bail. Her husband Jason Strickland will face trial on the assault charge.