Baby battle moving to High Court

Published on 06/03/2002 00:00

A DISPUTE between the parents of a disfigured baby and the hospital where she is being treated was moving to the High Court today.

Marai Rafi, who was born in Saudi Arabia and has been treated in Newcastle, was placed under an interim protection order last night after her parents threatened to take her away from the hospital in a disagreement over her treatment.

The baby’s parents, Suzanne and Aziz Rafi, attended a hearing at Gosforth magistrates’ court in Newcastle at which social services sought an emergency protection order. This would have allowed hospital staff to proceed with treatment without the parents’ consent.

Afterwards, Margaret Asquith, head of children’s services at Newcastle City Council social services department, said an interim order had been granted while the case passed to the High Court.

She said: "This will allow an opportunity for all the issues to be discussed fully and fairly before a higher court."

The 12-week-old child, the only survivor of triplets, was born with an extremely rare condition which has left her severely disfigured.

Her parents claimed staff at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary were treating the child as an "experiment" as her condition was so unusual.

Mrs Rafi said: "So many doctors and nurses come in to watch her."