Petrified about S47 investigation- hand hold please

[ChitterChatter1987]

Currently in hospital childrens ward with my 2mo baby (initially was in for an unrelated medical issue)
Yesterday, whilst here, I happened to notice a small (size of my little fingernail if not smaller) bluish patch on his willy.
Initially I thought is it a vein, then wondered could it be cyanosis as he gets that round his mouth and eyes sometimes too.Did cross my mind briefly about it being a bruise but know there was nothing that I could think of which could have caused it.
I told the doctor about it, as I was worried incase it was an issue with restricted blood flow or something.Doctor did blood tests which have come back fine and baby's SPo2 is aswell, but commented it looked like a bruise.
As would be expected with a bruise on an immobile infant, they said they would need to do a SS referral.I said fine, totally understand that (i actually work in children's services safeguarding 😭)
Didn't expect there to be much come of it, naively, thought it was just a precaution with the bruise being so tiny and no other concerns or SS history for our family.
However today all of a sudden things escalated- a strategy meeting was held at lunchtime, which i was told was happening (started to worry quite abit with this as know thats quite serious) Nurse was keeping me updated and said she would find out the outcome, however a couple of hours later, suddenly a policemen and a social worker arrive in the private room we are in! I absolutely panicked, broke down in tears and jumped ro worst case scenario thinking they were there to take my precious baby from me as they were talking about procedures that needed following etc.I obviously know an s47 means joint visit police and SW, but as i had not been warned so initially did not know what was happening as nobody told me or came into the room with them :(
Both were kind and explained things and then went to visit my husband and older children at home- police don't seem too concerned.Social worker said I need to stay in hospital til monday when they need to do some more safeguarding checks on baby, then an Social work assessment will take place, probably just on baby not older kids.
Obviously we have NO idea how the bruise happened, which doesn't help!

I am in bits.
I feel like I am living in a nightmare and it has honestly been the scariest and worst day of my life.
I feel like I will constantly be on eggshells now worrying about my every move.
I know they are of course just doing their job and have a duty of care, but its so horrible that the unthinkable is being thought, that we could have harmed our baby boy as we never ever would.
I am also in the longer term worried about what this means for my job.

I've cried so much today.We are not allowed to leave the hospital or the police will be called ...I feel like a criminal and I miss my other children so much (although have been doing video calls and they are allowed to visit)
It is so lonely and nobody knows IRL other than DH and my mum...still can't beleive this is happening myself not alone think about whether I want to tell anyone and how to go about it if we do.

Its awful being on the other side of things, never thought in a million years this would happen....I have always been the professional safeguarding others 🥺

Please, someone who has been through similar or knows more about this sort of situation than I do, talk me down abit x

I am a teacher and once had an 18 year old student tell me her dad hit her, as she was giving me a present because she was leaving college. She was almost certainly at no risk due to her age, but we still had to go through the full safeguarding procedures.
We’ve just seen the case of baby Preston, whose injuries were overlooked, so no sane health professional is going to brush aside anything concerning. They have to follow protocol, but equally they will be going into these procedures knowing that there are two possibilities for any child, that they are being harmed or that they aren’t. Just because they have embarked on this doesn’t mean they think you’re guilty, or that they want to find you guilty.
However, I do understand how scared you must be feeling. One bruise in itself isn’t enough evidence for them to draw any definitive conclusions, or to remove your baby or anything like that, but if a pattern emerged over time, then it would be.

We are overly cautious these days. Previous cases have made us extra careful - all will be fine, because you are a decent loving mother and father.

Unfortunately some are not. All this understandable trauma you are enduring ensures that for those being abused we do get it right.

All will be ok x

Oh gosh what an awful situation to be in, and obviously your baby must be ill too to be in hospital in the first place.
I also work in a role related to children's safeguarding. You know the best thing to do is stay calm, cooperate, don't hide anything or appear to be obstructive, and hopefully this will all soon go away.
What are the older children like with baby? Any chance one could've accidentally dropped a toy on him or something? Do they go in the bath together or maybe paddling pool and could've bashed him excitedly playing?

Hi op
has baby got any bruises anywhere else? Have they had blood tests to check clotting platelets etc?

This really does sound procedural. With a recent case where a baby was being abused and no service picked up on it it does sound as though authorities are on high alert. Surely it would only affect your job if they followed up on it due to finding a safe guarding issue?

Luckily he isn't ill- he has an issue with his skull plates- additional sutures (thank god that is what it is as up until this morning i think they were keeping an open mind about it being a non accidental injury because of the bruise!) But obviously still a worry as whilst they have confirmed that is definitely not a safeguarding concern, they are still looking at whether he needs any treatment for it.

Thankyou- 4 year old can be quite boisterous in general- she loves him lots but can get abit rough/handsy so we do have to watch her closely with him although it can be really hard to be able to do so every second- hopefully it wasn't something she did but can't be sure.

Aw really feel for you.

This nightmare will be over soon.

Yeah they gave him blood tests to rule out other causes, which all came back fine.No other bruises, they did examine him for that as soon as they saw the other one.They have got to do a skeletal xray i think they said and also check his eyes incase of brain bleeding (but said that's unlikely as CT scan showed no concerns) but can't do those til the department opens monday, hence why we have to be kept here.

I cannot believe you are minimising the abuse of an 18 year old by her Dad. You clearly have no understanding of the damage that can and does cause!!

Hi OP I'm a social worker.
Firstly if I was properly worried I would recommend a full assessment on all children in the home ( although not always usually strategy meetings include all kids unless there is a reason not to) so if they are saying just baby that would make me think that it was a general procedure rather than loads of concerns. Also has a safeguarding medical been mentioned? If a non accidental injury is suspected that's the usual outcome of a strategy and they would ask your consent. Where I work it is tricky to get them booked in as an emergency on a weekend so would usually be the next working day unless there were really significant concerns.

I’m sorry this is happening to you. It is absolutely awful and then when they’ve scrutinised every inch of your life and degraded you and your kids, they just disappear leaving you to feel broken and inadequate even when nothing comes of it. Similar happened to us last year over a tiny bruise on a 6 year old’s arm, it’s guilty until proven innocent with SS now. Nothing came of the S47 but it was a horrific process. Be warned they got hold of my medical records without even asking for consent. I know people on here say better safe than sorry, but they are clueless of the damage to families that this sort of thing does. So all I hear is “better to burn 100 innocent women than let one witch live.”
And while SS are busy hunting witches that takes away from the time they have for dealing with real abusers.
I hope it all comes right. 💐

Yeah obviously the baby preston case has likely made them on high alert, and rightly so really, but just so scary not knowing the definite outcome and feeling like everything we say/do is being judged, analysed or watched (as obviously as I know from my job, that's what needs to happen)

They haven't said anything about it affecting my job (probably wouldn't know anyway) I just think someone working in childrens services with an s47 on their child's record doesn't look great.As i work for the council, I wouldn't be suprised if something flags up if an employee is central to a safeguarding concern like this, but who knows.I know several social workers and social care managers in the team aswell :(

Thanks so much for your useful reply. I am not sure about the safeguarding medical....is that what the CT scan, eye and skeletal xray investigations would be part of? If so they are doing them monday.

This must be so scary. You just need to try and put your trust in the professionals that they will get this right, which I know is a lot easier said than done. I hope this is all cleared up on Monday for you 💕

Thankyou for sharing your story with me!
Its horrendously terrifying isn't it, especially when it escalates so fast.
I thought they mignt check medical records- I am abit concerned as I am currently awaiting some CBT for intrusive thoughts (get them abit every time after having a baby) and worried that could give more weight to someone thinking I was capable of harming him...although hopefully it would count in my favour that there were no concerns with my other 2 babies in regards to that, and also I raised the concern bruise myself so not hiding anythjng.

Probably but I would have thought they would have either said CP medical or Safeguarding medical.

When I said hit, it wasn’t ongoing at the time. It was childhood smacking. The student only mentioned it casually in conversation because I had spent a lot of time counselling her about a college related pastoral incident over the previous week. I did know her well and she was generally an happy student who got on well with me. Also she was going to be going to university shortly so would be away from home. So no, I don’t think she was at any great risk, but I did report it immediately and it was taken seriously. What I meant to convey to the poster was that any child protection concern should trigger a full investigation even if it seems the risk is actually low. I can see I wasn’t really clear enough though.

Well said. We were also put through an S47 and it was the most horrific experience of our lives.

I felt utterly violated when they read out my private medical notes on the conference call to a whole board of people. I still feel violated to this day years later when I think about it.

@ChitterChatter1987 be very careful, I would be concerned at them using the CBT for intrusive thoughts against you. I had been to CBT for a few months for birth trauma 6 years before our S47 and they used it against me and made out to the whole Conference panel that I was mentally unstable. It was AWFUL.

The SW also breached the Statutory Guidelines in our case, as it should never have gone to Conference, as a medical examination of our children proved that the allegation was untrue - categorically false, but the SW was awful. She wrote so many lies in the report that we actually thought she'd mixed up our case with another family. She sat there smirking on the Conference at us.

Not only this, but they let the referrer go to the MASH meeting and told her all of my personal medical information, despite her not being a professional, she was just a random person who barely even knew us.

I really hope that you don't get put through what we or many others do, hopefully you being one of them will save you from the vile treatment we received.

We did manage to get someone sacked over it, but not the SW unfortunately.

That's awful! So sorry you went through that- some professionals are really not professional at all.I'm not sure they would look at it with me being 'one of them' which they shouldn't anyway obviously and need to be objective, but hopefully at least if anyone involved does know me already and that i am a good mum and of good character I guess that could help.
Awkwardly, the nurse (?!) looking after us this morning used to do the same job as me in my team! 🤦‍♀️ Typical hey! So she will obviously know all about the situation.

Just a quick update for anyone who might see it- baby had the full skeletal xray today,and optamologist eye exam which were both all clear, and our allocated social worker (which kindly they have brought in from a completely unrelated/team and area to where I work) visited me and baby in hospital at lunchtime to discuss everything, then again when DH and older children were there at teatime (she spoke to both girls briefly alone 1-1 in a separate room, which is understandable).
She is really nice, not one to be judgemental or collude with other professionals, and i think she was abit suprised about the whole thing really (as per my update last night on a separate thread, the blue 'bruise' had quickly vanished without following the expected bruise stages) and also how small the mark was in the pictures.She seemed in agreement with me that it could just have been a prominent vein, and asked the medical staff if they could be sure it was a bruise which they said they could not.

At teatime, she told my husband she doesn't actually think it was a bruise, asked us to be discharged, and all of a sudden we were going home.She is doing a follow up visit next week to see our home, then hopefully by the sound of things that mignt be the end of it.

After a hellish weekend, being back home with my other little ones who have missed us terribly, in my own bed and no longer having to be supervised closely with my baby boy feels such a relief.

Thanks again for everyone on this thread, who has advised and supported me during one of the worst experiences of my life!

Really glad you've had a good and sensible outcome.