Baby sedated with antihistamines by nanny, coroner rules

A baby died after being given an antihistamine by a nanny who probably wanted to sedate him, a coroner has ruled. An inquest found failures by the Metropolitan Police when investigating what happened to the eight-week-old boy, including a failure to look in bathroom cabinets for medication or to seize feeding bottles, meaning "forensic opportunities were missed". Prof Fiona Wilcox, coroner for Inner West London, said in her prevention of future deaths report she was also concerned there was "no national regulation system for nannies". Recording an open verdict, the coroner also conveyed her concern that the person who looked after the baby was still working as a nanny. At an inquest in February, the coroner heard evidence about the death of the boy on 15 January, at his home address. She said he had been found unresponsive in a bassinet at about 06:15 GMT by the night nanny. Resuscitation was attempted and an ambulance called, but the baby was pronounced dead at 07:00. The antihistamine chlorpheniramine was present in the baby's blood at the time of death, with the coroner saying "this was probably administered to [the baby] by the night nanny". "The baby had been described as unse