Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
'Safety net' failed tortured baby
WHAT is the use of a children's protection register if it fails to protect our most vulnerable fellow citizens?
The BBC carries the story of the conviction of two men for the murder of a baby boy on Haringey Council's Child Protection Register. And the reaction, including from Lord Laming, the Children's Minister, the MP Lynne Featherstone, Sharon Shoesmith (Haringey Council), the police and others.
Another case like Victoria Climbie, possibly worse. Our council, again. Our councillors, our taxes and our responsibility too ...
The BBC carries the story of the conviction of two men for the murder of a baby boy on Haringey Council's Child Protection Register. And the reaction, including from Lord Laming, the Children's Minister, the MP Lynne Featherstone, Sharon Shoesmith (Haringey Council), the police and others.
Another case like Victoria Climbie, possibly worse. Our council, again. Our councillors, our taxes and our responsibility too ...
Tags for Forum Posts: Baby P, Climbie, Council, Haringey, Victoria, child, protection, register
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Our council are said to have spent £3,000,000 of our taxes on lawyers at the Victoria Climbie enquiry, in order to avoid responsibility for what happened ...
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Permalink Reply by Karin on
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they have a statement on the haringey council website responding to the baby p case. I think they should face a public enquiry.
With Victoria Climbie case none of the senior managers ever faced any disciplinary action.
With this new case apparently the mother covered the baby in chocolate to hide his injuries. The social worked says she didn't see the injuries - more like she just didn't want to see what was happening. Also the doctor who didn't examine the baby because he was 'cranky' - his back had been broken and she didn't notice. And this doctor can still work in the UK.
I'm really shocked by this happening again in Haringey. I have a friend who worked for Haringey social services for a short time and she said it was shambolic compared to when she worked in social services in leeds.
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Permalink Reply by Nigel Lupton (luptonn) on
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The response from our council is here: http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/news_and_events/latest_news/childa...
To me it reads like a white wash : we conducted a review & we've acted on all the recommendations of the review, but I have no confidence that we won't all be mourning the loss of another young life.
In particular, the follow statement makes me really angry:
The review found that “safeguarding structures exist across Haringey agencies and offer a sound framework for the implementation of required procedures, it has also identified scope for improving the detailed application of some processes.”
So, if the safeguarding structures exist why didn't they work or why were they not followed and where does the responsibility lie for these failures ? I guess the issue here is that this is a "multi-agency" involvement and so no one can be held responsible/accountable.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Listening to Sharon Shoesmith on the PM programme talking about 'successful strategies' made me so angry I was close to throwing the radio through the window. She is the first person that should go. Make no mistake, there was widespread systemic failure to protect this child, yes three evil people killed him, but there were 60 opportunities to 'save' this child. At one point he was removed and placed with someone else, where he began to recover and unbelievably and against police advice, he was taken back to the 'family' (I hesitate to give it that name, not my definition of a family) where the abuse started again immediately and still nothing was done. I don't know how the people involved in this can live with themselves.
Look at what we have here, worse than poor Victoria It involved the same council, the same health visitor clinic in Lordship Lane, Tottenham, and one of the same social workers who will not be disciplined and she, along with every other social worker involved in the case, will keep her job.
It actually makes me feel sick that no one may be made to take responsibilty for this failure of a service that is meant to protect the child, that they will return to business as usual.
If you can bear it (because the details are unbearable) read more here
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Strongly agree with your revulsion at the words of Sharon Shoesmith. The bureaucratic smokescreen cannot hide the truth: that this department is dysfunctional, unfit for purpose and is populated by people who seem more interested in bureaucratic process, reports and conferences than providing a real service to the society that pays their wages.
If a bureaucracy fails, the worst that normally happens is that time is wasted and large amounts of taxes go up in smoke. When a department like this fails, it results in the worst imaginable outcome. I am left wondering if this poor baby might have been less worse off if he had never been placed on Haringey's Child Protection Register, which provided a false sense of security.
This case, Haringey's shame, led to exchanges between David Cameron and Gordon Brown in the House of Commons.
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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I couldn't bear to watch this report on the news, and knowing it happened round the corner just makes it somehow all the more unbearable. That we can't protect a child in these sort of circumstances and with this level of supervision and intervention is just mind-blowing. I know that social workers have to deal with really difficult issues and that getting it wrong can lead to terrible consequences but .. good god .. even taking account of the advantages of hindsight this case sounds so bloody obvious.
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Permalink Reply by Birdy_Too on
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This kind of behaviour sickens everyone and as much as there are failures within the system, nothing is foolproof unfortunately. This should have been picked up with the amount of attention this family and household received.
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Permalink Reply by Anette on
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I am absolutely disgusted with them, how could they let this happen again? And how can these clearly incompetent and dangerous people keep their jobs?
I contacted them a while back about a child I thought was being neglected, they didn't even bother to look into it, the emails I got back basically read "sod off and go bother someone else, we're not interested" - obviously written slightly differently but that was the meaning. Disgusting. They should all be sacked and replaced by people who know what they're doing and care about others.
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Anette, your experience of providing information in good faith to Haringey's Social Services Department, and having had it rebuffed, chimes with what I've heard elsewhere.
Next Monday, Panorama will broadcast What Happened to Baby P? at 8.30 pm, "A six month investigation by the programme reveals the mistakes and missed opportunities that led to the death of a 17 month old boy known only as Baby P."
There are deep-seated problems with the staffing as you suggest. I fear that one of the issues that Haringey has been unwilling to address is institutional racism, whereby staff members are hired and retained on the basis of the colour of their skin rather than their ability to do the job.
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Shortly after I had my first child, the NSPCC by coincidence sent out a mailing called 21 names or some such. It looked like one of those jolly books you get when you are a new mum but inside it detailed 21 murders of children by parents/carers. I cried all day and it still haunts me.
Similarly, about the same time as the diappearance of Madeleine McCann, there was a hardly reported story of how 2 young children (babies really) had been killed by having alcohol poured down their throats by their parents. A third child was saved because they were spotted forcing her to drink in the street and were arrested. This story too upset me more in some ways than the big story. There are too many of these stories for comfort
However, what causes peoples shock and anger in this case was that every agency possible knew these people and yet time and again that baby was failed by people who are TRAINED to spot abuse, trained to act upon it, and employed to protect the vulnerable. One wonders how they could have not spotted it, anyone who spends time around a young child knows they are not quiet, they do not lie still under blankets, they are not constantly seated in a buggy or 'cranky' . What the hell did their training courses teach them if not how a normal healthy child should be?
But it gets worse. Not one person tonight in Haringey Children's services has resigned. The head of a radio station resigned over a stupid prank but the Head of children's services will be involved in the investigation of her own services horrific failings. This is what is making people angry. And brings us back to the original point made by Clive, what is the point of any of it, if it fails to protect the people it was created for.
The public sector has a culture of self protection, cover up and denial (I know I worked in it for 16 years). Never admit the public are right, never admit a mistake and never resign over a failing unless you are pushed very hard from above. With the second horrific death of a child on Haringey's watch after they were supposed to have implemented major changes, that culture must go and heads must roll.
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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A Haringey union Health rep I bumped into today at a course believes the PCT is largely responsible. Still, I guess Panorama will provide some answers in this area.
I saw the exchange today between Cameron & Brown. The issue of baby P was used for political point scoring which I think was outrageous.
Cameron appeared to call for Shoesmith's head and demanded that she not be in charge of an inquiry within the borough about the services she oversees herself. That is of course a correct point to make. If there is a police complaint in one force someone is brought in from outside to investigate for example.
The mum was 17 and the boyfriend can't read, were two other points made at this PM Questions session.
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C4 news has some reports on this:
Tuesday's report into the convictions: http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1529573111/bclid19154...
Today's commons exchanges: http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1184614595/bctid19174...
15 minute piece including interview with Ed Balls about his plans for Haringey council : http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1529573111/bclid19154...
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