Baby Amelia Cooper died after mother’s pain-relief patch became attached to her skin as they slept, UK inquest says

A baby girl has died after her mother’s powerful pain-relief patch apparently became attached to the child’s skin as the pair slept in the same bed.

Fifteen-month-old Amelia Cooper was taken to hospital after she was discovered lifeless in the bed of her mother, Sara Talbot, in St Austell, Cornwall.

She could not be saved and a postmortem found that she had high levels of the opioid fentanyl in her bloodstream.

The coroner, Emma Carlyon, said the cause of death was fentanyl toxicity but she said it was not clear how the patch had become attached to the baby. Despite a police investigation the patch was not found.

Carlyon said: “A patch was missing from her mother’s body. It is not clear how the patch came to be attached to Amelia, especially as she was wearing a pyjama top covering the area. It is not clear when, where or how the patch came to be attached to Amelia.”

The coroner will write to National Health Service chiefs and suggest a nationwide warning is issued. Royal Cornwall hospitals NHS trust said efforts were being made to make all GPs and pharmacists in the southwest aware of the possible hazards.