Islington toddler shaken to death was not in critical condition - says junior GP

A junior GP did not think a toddler was in a critical condition three days before he died from massive brain injuries, a court heard.

Chana Al-Alas, 19, and Rohan Wray, 22, of the Barnsbury Estate, Islington, are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of shaking their four-month-old son Jayden Wray to death.

On July 22, 2009, they took their child to see Dr Salim Jakhra at the Ritchie Street Practice in Islington. The doctor referred the baby to an emergency clinic at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Euston Road but let the couple take the bus instead of calling for an ambulance.

He admitted in court he did not consider the situation was “life-threatening” and said he hadn’t noticed “specific external injuries or obvious abnormalities”. “I had very little paediatric experience at that point, so I perhaps wasn’t as confident as a paediatric doctor,” he said.

Jayden was later transferred to intensive care at Great Ormond Street and died three days later. An MRI scan showed he suffered brain damage from being shaken and multiple broken bones including a fractured skull.

Dr Jakhra added: “I knew there was something not right and felt it needed further attention. I didn’t feel he was making eye contact, and he didn’t appear to be fixing on objects. He didn’t look as lively as a four-month-old child usually would.”

Al-Alas told police: “I did not cause any other injuries to my son whom I loved very much and I am not aware of anybody else causing them.”

Al-Alas and Wray deny murder and causing or allowing the death of a child. The trial continues.