**Trigger Warning** Title edited by MNHQ Very distressing news story about murder of 24 day old baby

[A580Hojas]

Aibu to not comprehend how it can be possible that newborn baby Stanley Davies, who had been in hospital on 3 occasions with broken ribs and limbs (if I am reading the reporting correctly) was sent back home with his parents and not removed from them by Social Services? I just cannot fathom how that could happen.

Someone is guilty of failing massively in their duty of care here (I refer to the professionals, not his parents). Unless any more knowledgeable Mumsnetters can explain to me how this might have happened?

God I wish I hadn’t read this

How can people be so unspeakably wicked? How can they be so evil? Disgusting beasts. I sincerely hope there’s a hell for them to go to.

I said it on another thread when a baby was murdered, there needs to be more opportunities for people to hand over their babies, and get a bloody financial reward for doing it. Not great social policy but if a thousand pounds will part you from your baby hand it over.

@Flashingbeacon surely you aren't suggesting the government buys babies? Can you not see how badly that would be abused?

Of course I can! Its terrible and a horrendous policy would need to be written. But murdered babies are worse.

it was reported they were both used cocaine

I don't have 15 million to donate to anything.
If I did I would expect the money to be used more wisely than the current income is used
If I thought I could work all sorts of hours to save children from lives and deaths like this I would but unfortunately there are reasons connected with these kind of issues which have made me disabled and therefore not able to work at all
I don't do empty posturing, I have stood and dared some violent drug and drink addicted male to take his temper out on me but he didn't. I am clear headed and can see when something needs done to help a child or children.
There have been things I wish I had handled differently but none of us can change the past.
Obviously I can not give any information on individual cases

*Can I just point out here that the people responsible for this child’s death are the people who were convicted of it today.

Not the Social Workers and the Health Visitor.

If you want to point the finger of blame at the professionals involved please aim much much higher at the politicians who have cut and cut and cut most Children’s Services Departments stripping them to their knees and placing dangerous and unachievable expectations on SWs who are expected to work 50 hours a week and get paid for 37.*

This!!!!!

Blame the parents first and foremost!

You would not believe the numbers of children who are being neglected on a daily basis in this country and by people who would be deemed by their friends and neighbours to be nice people. It's not malicious a lot of the time, it's laziness and apathy and lack of engagement.
If you are completely ok with putting your own needs above that of a child, then it's not hard to see how it escalates to children being physically harmed.

Instead of berating professionals who are busting their balls on a daily basis, look around you and see how you you could contribute to making a child's life better.

Hatgirl - the news report I read said he had been in hospital on 3 occasions prior to his death with broken ribs and limbs, as I said in my op. So, based on that, I wanted to know how it was possible for an infant who had been taken to hospital 3 times with major injuries was still allowed home with his parents. If we have safeguarding in place in hospitals then how did it happen? How was the severity of his injuries missed? How were his previous admissions not noticed on the third occasion? If the news report is inaccurate then shame on the journalist! There's no shame in being concerned about apparent failures in systems which are meant to protect babies from violent "carers".

Just for information the post-mortem showed the multiple fractures happened on 3 separate occasions he wasn’t brought in to hospital in 3 occasions with breaks and sent back home with the parents. He was brought in with a bruise behind his ear which a Dr thought a late emerging birth mark so planned to see him in a week but that was too late

@Flashingbeacon I agree it should be easier for people to give away unwanted babies but I think offering money is a terrible idea.
I just have visions of abused, controlled women being forced to give up their babies by horrible men, the thought makes me shudder.

SS weren't involved with this family were they?
I worked in children's social services, unless you have you have no idea of how underfunded, unappreciated and unsupported they are. I've known two female social workers go alone to see families where the police only go in fours.

So, so sad and what a gorgeous baby he was. Echo the poster who said there were only 17 days to pick this up but often at risk babies are known to be at risk before they are born and measures put in place, given the drug use etc reported I'm amazed this wasn't picked up in pregnancy or by a midwife visiting. Clearly someone picked up the bruise to his head which should have been enough but sadly wasn't.

brizzledrizzle

Exactly and expected to work above and beyond at the detriment of their own families.

Social Workers are leaving in droves and LAs cannot recruit because it is so totally shit atm.

"Can I just point out here that the people responsible for this child’s death are the people who were convicted of it today."

There is no need to point this out. Everyone on this thread understands that glaringly obvious.

This thread is about the systems we are supposed to have in place in this country to prevent it happening. Of course social services and the police can do nothing to prevent horrific child abuse when it is happening in families who are under the radar, and of course that happens.

But if a baby has been to hospital several times with several bone fractures why was he sent home?

Oh for sure I can predict baby farms but when I ask why people don’t give up the babies they can’t be arsed to look after I’m told it’s cause of the money they’d loose.
Those women are already being used and abused by men more interested in money than humanity, let’s take the babies out the equation. There needs to be fail safes and safety nets but they aren’t working now.

It might amaze some people but people lie to SWs constantly. Because they're scared, intoxicated, protecting themselves or someone else, don't trust, don't remember, on principle, head injury, personality disorder, MH issue or bloody mindedness.

Then there's the imperfect information from HVs, teachers, HCPs, all with their own agendas.

Then there's your gut. Which you listen to but cynically because everyone carries their own prejudices.

And then there's the absolute worst thing. Which is this. If you do nothing, someone could suffer or even die. If you do something, you just did the worst possible thing; broken a family up.

Now imagine you have four of these cases, plus tens of other, less life-or-death. And you haven't slept because of stress and your relationships are suffering and you can't take a holiday and you're getting sick and you have your own caring responsibilities.

And every single day is like this.

But if a baby has been to hospital several times with several bone fractures why was he sent home

Because the system is underfunded and broken and full of broken social workers and HCPs.

The mother also missed appointments with him on more than one occasion and the next time he was seen was when Midwives sent him straight in and he never come home again.

He was seen in hospital once for the bruise behind his ear until the day he was brought back in via ambulance and didn’t come back out again. The other injuries were found after this

This is shocking and revolting.

Is the mother's partner the child's father?

It's an awful, horrific case and there will be a serious case review. Until that time, we only know what has been published and there will be a huge amount of information that isn't in the public domain.

We absolutely don't know what contact this family had with professionals and what form this took.

Therefore the calls for sackings and sending people to the 'dole queue' are premature and probably very unfair.
If mistakes were made they should be learned from but medics and social workers can't possibly save every child as much as I'm sure they wish they could.

Well they were definitely known to the authorities, the policeman in the video commented that the last time he was called to their place, she was heavily pregnant. They seem to have been well known for disturbances and drug taking. That should have somehow red-flagged them.

RIP little guy, such a beautiful baby, unfortunately born to the dregs of the earth.
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It’s just awful. My understanding is it takes some degree of force to break a baby’s bones are they are flexible to an extent following the birth so it’s truly horrific

mrsterryprachett not to mention the managers who disagree with your own professional judgement, the senior management who waltz in with some statement which has nothing to do with the case then waltz off again, the fact that often it’s clear what a child needs only be to told ‘there’s no budget for that’ or ‘we have nothing available’.

Or the dread you get when you return from annual leave to find out that your case has completely combusted whilst you’ve been away and nobody has had the time to cover it.

Or the fact sometimes you will really like an individual, think they are great, put trust in them and believe you are all working towards the same cause only to find out your gut was completely fooled and they had their own sinister, much darker agenda than you even imagined.

It’s really not always as obvious as ‘child has injury and so should be removed’ but that’s how the public seem to view it including people on this thread.

It'll probably come to light that the supposed 'joined up working' gas broken down.

Possibly the correct procedure hasn't been followed by the Police.

Had everything been documented on the same system, the Baby would have been removed.

The HV must be devastated that her attempt to help him was in vain.