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.

I would like to shake your hand Vera - you talk sense.

And don't forget that stupid bitch of a Dr who couldn't even diagnose a broken back. Wasn't the poor little mite only 13lbs when he died? Surely alarm bells should have been ringing for her just by that fact alone. I think her excuse was thathe only cried briefly so she thought he was alright - makes you wonder how scared he must have been to not even allow himself to cry too much with a broken back.

I feel utterly devasted, de-flated, depressed, powerless, sad and angry after hearing about this.

That poor little baby. Dd (17mo) was sat at my feet when the news came on tonight with this story. I could do nothing but scoop her up and cuddle her into me.

Shocking. I can do nothing but shake my head at this, words are literally failing me.

I am not normally very emotional but have shed tears several times over this dreadful case. I do not think I have anything to add, but...

Callisto stated earlier 'There does appear to be institutionalised inverse snobbery at work in SS which seems to prevent babies and children being taken from poor, badly educated parents. Bizarre and horrifying.' I heartily agree with this. Does anyone remember this case http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/684433.stm three children neglected to death by couple

Despite many visits by ss to disgusting conditions this couple were allowed to kill 2 of their own children and their nephew that they were 'looking after'. A GP who lived opposite them who reported them to ss was basically told not to be such a snob as everyone had different standards of clenliness and shouldn't be judged by GP's own standards. All deaths were reported as SIDS, until the registra of deaths picked up the anomally of so many SIDS at one address. When the children were eventually removed one toddler had maggots in his/her nappy - a housefly egg takes 24+ hours to hatch to a maggot.

The Parents played computer games all day.

I remember this case particularly as it was the first of it's type after I had become a mother.

Like IamwhatIam, I have also been investigated by SS - although they didn't get as far as my front door.

After too many visits to A&E with my physically disabled DS they contacted my GP. Luckily she knows me well, as has supported me fully whilst trying to get help/therapies and a DX for DS, and she told them in no uncertain terms they were wrong.

I am far more wary of taking DS to A&E now and am a dab hand with the steristrips.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/684433.stm

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7109385.stm

He was called Peter. The parents are also named in this report.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7109385.stm

Done that Marm, just wanted to let everyone know again (just in case any of you are prison officers in female/male institutions) as well as putting a name to this poor poor baby.

I hope that mother's (now 8 month old) child wasn't subjected to any of the violence and is in a loving home.

Heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking.
Hope both these vermin rot in hell, and why oh why are the social workers/Doctors allowed to walk away without blood on there hands.

Poor poor little baby, I hope he is at peace.

Also did grandparents, baby's real dad, friends, neighbours etc not see what was going on?

Why was no one screaming from the roof tops that this baby needs taking in to care?

The whole system and wider world failed this child and that has to stop.
It is not sticking your nose in, it is not judging someone who may be having an off day, it is being a decent person and looking out for someone who can not protect them self.

I felt sick reading what that poor poor wee boy had to go through in his short life.

God rest his soul

(ribbon - I only posted your link to make the link work)

How many more innocent little children are going to die at the hands of pure evil before something is done?

There should be some form of punishment for these people fit for the crimes they commit (and i use the term "people" loosely)

Prison is too good for these people, they will not be allowed to mix with anyone else, so as much as i hope they would get whats coming to them, i doubt that will happen.

As for those who say, they might be evil but they're still human being, no. Because under some do-gooding law, all human beings have the right to be treated with respect and dignity - so can i ask, what dignity and respect did baby p's mother and co-horts show to him?

In my opinion, as yes, im well prepared for the backlash, they should be able to inject these people with some deadly, painful, deadly disease, put them in a room, lock the door and leave them to die, alone and in pain and by all means feed them, just to prolong the agony.

In prison, they will have warmth and food (and no doubt a fucking tv and nintendo wii!), both of which they denied baby p.

I write this in tears. Baby p, wherever you are, i hope you are in a place of true peace and with people who will take care of you, suffer no more x

I wish i hadnt heard about that story. It will go round in my head for ever now. That poor little lad. Hope the weirdo's that did it get ther heads kicked on a regular basis while in prison. God i wish we had hanging still.

I look at my little ds ages 13mths, happy little soul, and imagine that poor boy living a life of hell at the hands of those bastards.

As for the imcompentant doctors, well i would guess that a average person off the street could see that child was mistreated, miserable and seriously injured, let alone a doctor

It says in that last report she is due to give birth again in March

oh sorry - just seen the baby must have been born. Hope they are in a good home with lots of care

Those of us that think we can make a big difference to the 'system' might want to consider training to be a Paediatrician, Doctor or Social Worker (there are plenty of vancancies with Social Services.) They are looking for dedicated staff who can spot abuse accurately but be able to tell everyday injuries from those inflicted with purposeful violence, and work effectively with other agencies to insure that these children stay safe.

If we can fill some of those Child and Family social work vacancies then at least those who are currently working in the field will be less stretched.

Oh and don't worry about whether you need to be a 'tree hugger' or read the 'Guardian' - that makes fuck all difference when you need to save a kid from horrific abuse.

Believe me I am angry, but I also know these jobs can be really tough and I want to wait for the outcome of the investigation for the full picture before condemning anyone but the parents and the other abusers.

scummy - childminder reported family to social services and asked for him to be taken into care apaprently. She was named in the papers this week and said she had contacted them repeatedly.

Funding is an issue too (for training and development, recruitment etc)

The Guardian has compiled the key questions on this case:

? Why did all the children's services in Haringey individually and collectively fail to stick to approved procedures for managing child protection cases?

? Why did Sharon Shoesmith, Haringey's director of children's services, rather than an independent expert, chair the serious case review into the handling of Baby P?

? Is it a coincidence that the death happened in Haringey again or is there a specific problem in the north London borough?

? Did police urge social workers not to return Baby P to the family home, and if so, why was this ignored?

? Why did Haringey fail to pass on all relevant documents to police and prosecutors until the case reached trial?

? Why did NHS staff fail to follow the correct procedures when there was evidence that Baby P suffered non-accidental injuries?

? Was the management and supervision of staff involved in the case up to scratch?

? Why did the local authority not abide by the fostering regulations when it used family friends as temporary carers for Baby P?

As it happens I dont read the Guardian - but let's hope we can get some clear and accurate answers to get an overall picture of the situation. We need to for the sake of future children, families and staff involved with children's services.

izzyboy, yes there are some good social workers, and professionals working with at risk children, there are also some complete fools.

you say you want to wait till the outcome before condemning anyone apart from the abusers themselves. well forgive me for disagreeing again with you.
yeah ok the social services and drs etc, didn't actually 'abuse' baby p, BUT they played a part. they can cover it up in any way they want, but they did fuck up big time.

i agree with the poster who said that the dr failed to realize the baby wasn't ok, when examined because he did not cry much. oh my god that breaks my heart.... it does not take a bloody professional to realize that this baby was too fucking scared to make a sound, and had learned to stay quiet, despite being in horrendous pain, no doubt.

the whole situation, makes me sick to my stomach.

baby p, may you now be surrounded by angels and love, and now be at peace. you will always be in my thoughts. goodnight, god bless, little man xxxxxxxxxx

I want to wait matildax because at the moment we do not have the full picture, it is drip drip 'he said, she said'type of media driven 'evidence'. Yep I agree it all sounds completely crap but I am not going to come on the net and condemn those services involved in the case until I know the FULL details. That's just me, you are equally entitled to say what you want.

As I said they are looking out for dedicated staff in these services so the 'complete fools' are not employed. However there are 'complete fools' in all areas of employment but the terrible consequences from cocking up as a Social Worker, Dr or Paed. are obviously horrific.

I'm so glad I don't work in child protection, you are really opening a big can of worms in that kind of job environment - any mistake you make, it's picked up on quicker and scrutinised more than any other sector. Still don't find it plausible that the doctor had no idea that this wee boy didn't have a broken back. He would have been in extreme agony.

I was really on the verge of tears watching the news yesterday on the injuries this poor child suffered at the hands of his mother and the two men involved. what is the world coming to if we can't protect the innocent and vulnerable??