Baby H case raises serious questions say Liberal Democrats (Tower Hamlets Liberal Democrats)

Baby H case raises serious questions say Liberal Democrats

December 10, 2008 11:23 PM

Report into the death of Baby H

Concerns have been raised by Liberal Democrats about the actions of Tower Hamlets Council prior to the death of Baby H. The six month old baby was killed by her father in the London Borough of Redbridge having lived briefly in Tower Hamlets. Cllr Stephanie Eaton commented "The death of Baby H was caused by the brutal actions of her father but the various agencies involved did not exchange information that may have identified the risk posed to her. We must learn from this tragic case. I am particularly anxious to ensure that there are not delays in commencing initial assessments of children at risk or children in families where there is a history of domestic violence. We must also ensure that when a family moves to another place, the fullest information is passed on immediately to the authorities in the new location."

The Serious Case Review which followed the death of Baby H criticised a social worker in Tower Hamlets for delays in commencing the Initial Review of the family and for failing to mention concerns about Baby H to Redbridge when the family moved to that Borough.

Councillor Eaton stated further "Because of the frequent moves of the family and the failure of authorities to piece together the full picture of domestic violence perpetrated by the father, the danger to Mother and Baby were not recognised. We need to be aware that domestic violence against one member of a family means other members of the family are at risk."

The report into the the circumstances of the death of Baby H says:

"On 18th December 2006 Ms O approached police in Tower Hamlets and alleged that Mr E had been violent to her, recently and throughout her pregnancy. She also said that he pinched Child H when she cried. Mr E was arrested but Ms O made a withdrawal statement. Mr E was cautioned and released. The pinching of Child H was not recorded as a crime. The situation was discussed between officers of the Tower Hamlets Police Child Abuse Investigation Team and Tower Hamlets Children's Services. No child protection action was taken by either agency. Police terminated their involvement while, on 9th January 2007, Children's Services allocated the case to a social worker for an initial assessment."

"On 16th January 2007 the family again came to the attention of police, as Mr E was trying to remove Child H from Ms O's care. Ms O and Child H were moved to temporary accommodation in Redbridge. The Tower Hamlets social worker had not commenced his assessment but now learned that the family had left the area. He sent a referral to Redbridge Children's Services, mentioning the concerns about domestic violence but not the pinching of Child H. The referral was received in Redbridge where it was decided that no further action was to be taken."

Baby H died on April 25 from a substantial head injury.

The report criticises Tower Hamlets in the following terms: "The pinching of Child H should have been recorded as an allegation of crime and investigated as such. It should also have been investigated as a child protection matter. There should have been a clearer focus by police and Children's Services on the child, not just the domestic violence. A further opportunity to learn more about the situation was missed by Tower Hamlets Children's Services as a result of their slow follow-up of the decision to carry out an assessment... In both Tower Hamlets and Redbridge information about police contact with the family was not passed on by Children's Services to the Health Visiting services."

Recommendations made to Tower Hamlets Childrens Services include: "The Department should review and strengthen as necessary the arrangements for

• receiving and processing referrals, to ensure that allegations of injury are identified and followed up in line with statutory requirements and procedural guidance

• screening decisions made by front-line managers

• ensuring that primary health care services are appropriately informed of the content of police notifications"

The Executive Summary of the Serious Case Review into the death of Baby H can be read at:

http://www.redbridge.gov.uk/cms/idoc.ashx?docid=29ae511a-2ffe-443c-957b-4ff831a75ed4&version=-1

Tower Hamlets Liberal Democrats