The poor 17 month old -died of broken back

[skydancer1]

I just find these kind of stories of extreme abuse so very upsetting and wish we had better safeguards in place to stop such hideous harm happening or at least continuing (when it's pretty obvious!) to helpless children. Why on earth did the doctor not examine a child because he was already on an at risk register and was 'cranky and miserable' at an appointment and hence he/she failed to notice broken back and ribs? It beggars belief. I'm not a punitive 'hang them flog them' type (in fact I'm strongly against corporal punishment) but in this instance I think the mother should be forcibly sterilised to prevent her ever hurting or 'allowing' such hurt to any other child.

He was born the month before Tom. It's just so sad.

Things are really moving now that David Cameron has brought this up on Parliament and the heated debate that ensued has now put this issue on the top of the political agenda. Gordon Brown has had to U-turn somewhat for this morning's position and there will now be an independent inquiry into this case.

I don't particularly like David Cameron but today, I am completely behind him.

I am still going to weigh in by faxing Gordon Brown (thanks Missmodular for the tip) and writing to Beverley Hughes (Children's Minister) and Ed Balls (Secretary of State for Children). No way can this case be swept under the carpet.

izyboy - "I think it is clearly documented in the media that the social worker involved in the Victoria Climbie case suffered from terrible emotional and mental trauma in the aftermath of the case.Any newly qualified social workers would look at her situation and think 'no way am I working for Child and Family services.'What I am trying to say is that we need to have some faith in our social workers otherwise we will not be able to recruit bright, dedicated staff.

Reading about the Climbie case made me think that I would never do that job - not because of the media/public reaction to that scapegoated junior social worker but because the management involved failed to make it possible for her to protect that little girl and then proved themselves accountable to nobody

That lessons were not learned and this has happened again in Haringey, suggests that the problems have not been addressed and senior people are still failing to grasp that the aim of their work is not arse-covering and empire building but child protection! Sharon Shoesmith, chairman of Haringey's Local Safeguarding Children Board, said: "The very sad fact is that we can't stop people who are determined to kill children. I am satisfied that the action that should have been taken was taken."

Beat that for callousness and complacency. The list of that poor baby's horrific injuries over such a long period will haunt me for a long time. Yet that stupid woman is satisfied and nobody will have to resign.

i agree upwind..
sharon shoesmiths comment you mention, made my blood run cold.

the whole thing is beyond human comprehension.

i feel quite unwell.

I think the social workers should be jailed.

Sure Upwind I agree the management made it very difficult for the social worker to do her job effectively - from what I have read. Which is why I personally would want to be very careful about sapegoating individuals.

Jangly I take it you wont be putting your neck on the line as a Social Worker to insure that the statutory rights are upheld for children and young people.

that's scapegoating btw

ffs jangly, that is an ill-thought-out comment

Right then Jangly, lets hang the parents, jail the sws and birch the doctor.
That'll help Baby P.

Scapegoating or not, that social worker was fucking useless. She had eyes, she could see what was in front of her nose, yet for whatever reason she chose to ignore it. As did those above her, none of them should be able to sleep.

And I still believe that the scum that did this should hang.

Well you know, anyfucker I am sure that social workers have to put up with that sort of comment all the time.

It happens too bloody often. If you can't do the job then leave! There must have been some criminal negligence somewhere along the line.

and ffs yourself!

What would help children like this little boy is social workers being made to do their job.

I regret my use of "ffs"

My apologies to all on this thread for that.

I don't think I have ever been so upset by a news story as I have been by this. Poor little baby

once again, SS have the blood of a child on their hands - My friend had her baby son removed from her care (I'm not going to go into details in case she's an MNer.) but they never put her daughter into care, which is always IMHO. My friend and her DH are the best parents EVER. They have their son back now after 7 long years of battling with SS. They were proven never to have harmed their children. Good job really, as they were deemed dangerous enough as parents to have their DS taken away but not their DD. What if they had been abusive.

It just goes to show the MASSIVE failings of SS countrywide.

I used to teach - there was one child in my class who was obviously being abused by his family. When the head on the school contacted SS, they basically said that they has washed their hands of this family. I think the term was "We have done all we can for them" I have moved away from Birmingham since then, but I'll always wonder what happened to that poor little boy

I've no doubt that some social workers are dedicated and excellent at their jobs, but stories of the failings of social services are all too common, and in some cases, like this one, with horrific outcomes.

And as for Sharon Shoesmith and her cold-heartedness, well . The last I read, the SS dept haven't even apologised to the boy's father

LM She also had a horrendously high workload from what I recall and little support and boy has she paid for her human error. I have thought about social work myself as a career but honestly I think there are easier ways of making a living.

I agree Jangly that having weel supported, well trained, well resourced sws would be great but asking for those sws who have crap support, training and resources to be jailed can't really be the way forward can it?
There are so amny things that could be done to improve the system but pointing fingers is really low down on the list.

jangly your comments highlight why councils find it very hard to recruit enough social workers into Child and Family services.

Sharon Shoesmith has been quoted as saying "We worked hard to support the family." Maybe this was part of the problem - Haringey SS were so focused on maintaining the family unit in this case that they became blind to the injuries that baby P's so-called 'guardians' were inflicting upon him.

May this poor child rest in peace.

I'm sure she did and as I posted earlier, there are great social workers out there, but human error just doesn't cover it this time. she missed a battered, abused, thin child. How, in 60 visits, did she/others who visited manage that?

I don't think the social worker should be punished - I certainly think that Shoesmith needs to rethink her position though

ladym - I don't think the caseworker saw the child 60 times. I think that was the figure for the number of times he had come into contcat with 'profs'. That would include Drs, HVs, his respite child minder, police etc.
It may be that part of the problem is that no one person saw him more than a handfull of times - that's soemthing I've seen so often.

Lm are you talking about the Climbie case re 60 visits? Look I am not on this thread to answer specific qustions about how professionals could have or should have managed these cases.

I simply wish to highlight that it is very hard to recruit enough social workers in the field of Child and Family, that it is a job fraught with difficulties, if you fail the emotional and human costs are unbelievable high. Oh and you put your life at risk aswell. These people do not earn anywhere near the salary of GPs and Paediatricians.

Social Work is not for the faint hearted. And yes RIP little baby P

dittany, we were visited by child protection. On the first visit DD was napping, he asked a lot of questions, looked in our kitchen cupboards and made notes and told me to close the window as DS was cold, he wasn't. Had they any real concerns I'd have thought he'd at least have wanted to see DD.

On the second visit we just went through paperwork which he tried to force me to sign before I'd had chance to read it. It was a statement on us based on his previous 20 minute visit full of spelling mistakes and errors in facts. Fortunately after that visit case was clsed so we had no more dealings. I know this is just a one off personal account but we were horrified at the incompetence.

We are in a very stretched se london borough, if that makes any difference.