5 Aug 2008

Baby in critical condition in Auckland hospital

6:21 pm on 5 August 2008

The police in Auckland say a four-month-old boy taken to hospital on Saturday has life-threatening head injuries. They say the injuries are not accidental. The boy is in a critical condition in Auckland's Starship Hospital.

The baby was initially taken by ambulance from his Papakura home, south of Auckland, to Middlemore Hospital after paramedics were called, but was later tranferred to Starship Hospital in the central city.

Police say the boy's parents, aged 18 and 19, as well as his maternal grandmother, have provided initial statements and are co-operating with the investigation.

A scene examination of the Papakura house by a specialist child abuse investigation team and scientists from Environmental Science and Research will continue on Wednesday.

Child, Youth and Family has become involved in connection with an 18-month-old child who also lives at the address, but it says the family was not previously known to it.

A Starship Hospital spokesperson says the boy's condition remains critical.