Report published into death of Powys teen Kaylea Titford

The Newtown teenager’s parents Alun Titford and Sarah Lloyd-Jones were both jailed for gross negligent manslaughter last year, after her death in October 2020. The court heard that she had become chronically obese and had maggots in open wounds on her.

Now a review by Donna Peach, commissioned by CYSUR, the Mid and West Wales Safeguarding Board, has found that after she stopped attending school after suffering from bullying, the teen had only known to have spoken directly to her school twice, and that information sharing between health agencies could have looked in more detail at why she was not brought to appointments.

The report noted the “condition of her body was a source of anguish and indicative of chronic neglect” and that “the absence of parental intervention to seek medical assistance lacked explanation and hindered immediate comprehension.”

READ MORE:

• School spoke to Powys teen Kaylea Titford twice before death
• Powys Council told to find children who need support after Kaylea Titford death
• Health authorities 'missed warning signs' before death of Kaylea Titford

The review which looked into the previous to years that led up to her death found that she had previously been healthy and active and that reportedly, “given the right opportunities and support” Kaylea “could have been a future Paralympian”.

The report looked into her schooling and found that Kaylea over the course of 2019 turned up to school less due to bullying online and declining health.

After isolating in 2020 they found the school did ring the home regularly but found that “there are only two recordings where it was explicit that [Kaylea] was spoken to directly”.

According to the report the school has since developed a new ‘eyes on’ policy meaning if a child has not been seen for two weeks “a heightened state of alert could elicit a visit to the family home or, if deemed necessary, raise a safeguarding concern with the relevant agency”.

READ MORE: Parents of obese Powys teen Kaylea Titford jailed

READ MORE: Police bodycam footage from Kaylea Titford's bedroom

Powys County Council were found not to know if Kaylea was included in the disability register but said it was unclear “if or how inclusion would have directly benefitted her”.

The report recommends that the council “have a system that identifies the children with disabilities in their region who are likely to need care and support.

“This information should be used to shape allocated resources and the services available to children in Powys.”

Health services were found to have missed concerns including multiple missed appointments and had not booked in follow ups to previous appointments.

More broadly the report found “information sharing and communication between the English hospitals, the local hospital, the GP and the parents could have been more robust" to look into why Kaylea was not brought to appointments.

“That could have been explored further to identify any safeguarding concerns or offer any further support to the family, particularly concerning the distance the family had to travel to appointments.”

The report also noted that “a repeated narrative shared by managers and practitioners as part of the learning events was the insufficient number of practitioners across services, including community paediatricians , specialists in congenital urology, GPs and school nursing .

“Notably, there are some strategies in place designed to respond to effective workforce provision, including the introduction of Physician Associates (PAs) in contemporary general practice.”

The report has given recommendations to Powys County Council and Powys Teaching Health Board on how they can improve their practices.