Glasgow man jailed for switching off newborn's vital medical equipment

A man who switched off a newborn baby's vital medical equipment as she lay sick in hospital has been jailed for almost three years.

James Tracey silenced the alarm on a monitor that the tiny two day old child was attached to.

The baby had been born with breathing problems and was kept in an incubator at a specialist unit at Glasgow's Princess Royal maternity hospital.

Medics were keeping tabs on her oxygen levels and an alarm would sound if they dropped.

Tracey could have put the infant's life at threat - but became annoyed when nurses told him to stop.

It also later emerged that the 32 year-old battered another child while supposedly babysitting him.

Tracey is now behind bars after he pleaded to culpably and recklessly switching off the monitor to the danger of the baby's life.

He also admitted assaulting a two year-old boy throwing him in shower, banging his head and hitting him.

Sheriff Paul Crozier jailed Tracey for 33 months at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Tracey had gone to visit the child in hospital on October 5, 2015.

The baby had respiratory issues and had been shifted to a neo-natal unit.

She was attached to what was described as a "heart and saturation monitor" as doctors kept close tabs on her condition.

Prosecutor Adele MacDonald said the device "recorded oxygen levels" and if they "went below a certain limit" an alarm would go off to warn the medics.

During his visit, nurses spotted Tracey tampering with the equipment.

Miss MacDonald went on: "They noticed that when the saturation monitor sounded he pressed the mute button.

"He was told not to do that and became agitated and was removed by security staff."

Luckily the nurses had stepped in before any harm was caused.

But, if levels had dipped and medics were not aware, the child could have suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain and other major organs.

There was also the threat of respiratory arrest.

Around the same time in October 2015, a social worker noticed bruises on a two year-old boy's face while visiting his mum.

The police and a child protection team were then alerted.

The boy's mum went on to find more bruising on her son's body.

She then suspected Tracey, who had previously looked after the child at a house in Cambuslang, near Glasgow.

The boy's sister went on to tell police that she had clocked Tracey smacking her brother and throwing him into a shower.

The court heard his injuries were "non accidental" and "consistent with blunt force trauma or applying pressure".

But, liar Tracey denied being responsible - and claimed a TV had fallen on the youngster.

Tracey pled guilty to the crimes on the day he was due to stand trial.

The court heard from defence counsel Ronnie Renucci that Tracey is sorry for what he did.