Essex: Midwife Guilty Of Baby In Cupboard

19 November 2013, 09:21 | Updated: 19 November 2013, 09:25

A midwife has been found guilty of leaving a four-day-old baby face-down in a cupboard in Essex.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) found that 35-year-old Yvonne Musonda-Malata failed to provide appropriate clinical care to a baby while working on a night shift at Queen's Hospital in 2011.

Ms Musonda-Malata constantly protested her innocence throughout the hearing.

"I did not put the baby in the cupboard at all. At all. I did not,'' she told the panel.

A spokesman for the NMC said she will appear at the hearing again on Wednesday, when the panel will have to decide whether she will be punished over the incident.

Colleague Christine Onade had been cleared of all charges against her.

Ms Onade was caught up in the incident after it was alleged she had been spotted taking the baby out of the cupboard.

She will not be required to appear before the hearing again.

Ms Onade had to rush from the hearing room last week after breaking down in tears.

"My life has nosedived into what I can only describe as a nightmare,'' she sobbed at the time. "I kept hoping it would be over, but it went from bad to worse.''