Baby dies seven days after circumcision as coroner points main warning to folks
A six-month-old baby boy died just seven days after undergoing a circumcision procedure in West London. A coroner has now issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report highlighting serious safety concerns
A coroner has sounded a warning over circumcisions being performed “without any prior training” or regulation, following the tragic death of a six-month-old baby boy in West London, just seven days after undergoing the procedure.
Mohamed Abdisamad was subjected to a ‘non-therapeutic’ male circumcision on February 12, 2023, carried out by a circumciser recommended to his parents, according to a coroner’s report. Non-therapeutic circumcisions refer to those conducted for non-medical reasons.
The West London Coroner’s Court was informed that the wound seemed to be healing well during the initial three to four days, but then the infant started showing signs of illness.
On February 19, as his condition worsened, his mother made an emergency call and he was swiftly transported to Hillingdon Hospital via ambulance. Tragically, the baby suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest en route and was pronounced dead at 11.55pm that night.
An inquest jury concluded on October 8 that Mohamed’s death resulted from complications stemming from a non-therapeutic male circumcision (NTMC), with the primary medical cause of death identified as invasive streptococcus pyogenes infection following the circumcision, reports MyLondon.
In light of this tragic case, Dr Anton van Dellen, assistant coroner for West London, has issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report, highlighting six key areas of concern raised during Mohamed’s inquest.
Dr van Dellen outlined: “The matters of concern are as follows. Any individual may conduct a non-therapeutic male circumcision (NTMC) without any prior training or any continuing professional development. There is no system of external accreditation and/or registration for individuals who conduct a non-therapeutic male circumcision.
“There is no requirement for any record keeping for individuals who undergo a non-therapeutic male circumcision. There is no system for consent to be taken prior to a non-therapeutic male circumcision.
“There is no requirement for any infection control measures for non-therapeutic male circumcision [and] no requirements for any aftercare… including but not limited to dressing the wound, analgesia and/or worsening care advice.”
The report has been distributed to ‘interested persons’ including Mohamed’s father, mother, maternal grandmother, uncle and other unnamed individuals, alongside London Ambulance Service, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
All recipients must provide a response within 56 days (February 23) detailing their planned course of action, with these replies also being forwarded to the chief coroner.
