NURSES caring for tragic baby Toby Woods in the weeks before his death raised concerns about how he was treated by his mother, an inquest heard.

The medical staff feared that Donna Hanson, 26, was suffering from Munchausen Syndrome's By Proxy, a condition in which parents cause fictitious disorders in their children, the hearing was told.

But the health worker who visited Toby and his mother most often during his three-month life insisted there was nothing wrong with the way he was cared for.

Toby's death in September, 1999, following that of his brother Ashley 10 months earlier, prompted a lengthy police investigation and his mother was arrested on suspicion of murdering them.

Miss Hanson, of Church Street, Accrington, was told last year no charges would be brought against her.

The inquest, at Clitheroe Town Hall, heard Toby had been admitted to hospital on August 12, 1999 after Miss Hanson reported him "going floppy" and blue.

He was initially cared for at Queen's Park Hospital before going to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital for tests.

They revealed he was suffering from gastro-oesothageal reflux disease (GORD) - a form of vomiting in which the body attempts to remove excess acid from the stomach.

Research has since suggested it can cause young children to stop breathing. Tests at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital showed Toby suffered GORD 200 times in a 20-hour period.

But the nurses at Queen's Park Hospital did not know this and became concerned for Toby's welfare because he only seemed to fall ill in his mother's presence, the inquest was told.

Paediatric ward sister Barbara Hargreaves told the inquest she was called to Toby's cot by an alarm, which triggered when his pulse weakened.

She said she found Toby on his mum's knee, and his lips had turned blue. "The mother was very calm about it," said Mrs Hargreaves.

She added that a breathing monitor attached to Toby had been switched off. "When I asked the mother about that she became more agitated and said it must have come unattached. But I saw it had been turned off," she added.

Under cross-examination by coroner Michael Singleton, Mrs Hargreaves admitted that in subsequent talks with doctors the possibility of Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy "was a consideration."

But Joanne Birch, a health worker who visited Toby seven times, said she had no concerns about Toby's care.

Andrew Scott, representing Miss Hanson, said medical research from the last five years published in the American Medical Journal had suggested GORD could cause a baby to stop breathing.

All the medical professionals attending the hearing from Queen's Park Hospital said they had not had information about GORD.

(Proceeding)