There is no doubt about it among the team treating him, but the teenager refuses to tell the truth.Staff at St Thomas' Hospital in London are seeing the direct effect of the knife crime epidemic - last year, there were 252 blade related deaths
Dr Shalini Panchal, an A&E consultant at St Thomas’, says: “We try to gather as much information as we can, but they’re often cagey and scared you’re going to tell the police.”The case of the teenage boy bears a striking resemblance to a 15-year-old lad treated for minor injuries by the team in 2008 after being stabbed in the leg. A few weeks later he was fatally stabbed.
When I visit the hospital the waiting room is a mixture of scared, upset and fed-up patients. But in one cubicle a teenage boy breaks into a smile as he engages in a light-hearted debate with youth support worker Dwain Allen about biscuits and the latest Marvel film. As St Thomas’ isn’t a major trauma centre, staff often treat much younger victims. Dr Criddle says: “I’ve seen youngsters as young as 12 involved in knife crime. We see a lot of lower- level violence and assaults too.”
Dwain’s boss Tom Isaac tells me of a 12-year-old boy forced to hide knives at home by older boys on his estate.Dr Criddle Waterloo for 11 to 16-year-olds. Stuart says: “Tonight we’ve probably saved the police a minimum of £10,000 because these 45 young people aren’t out causing crime or negativity and therefore not using valuable police resources.”
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