I can't show the really photo of Baby P: it's really sadAll of them had contact with the 17-month-old boy after concerns were first raised that he was being abused, but their combined expertise failed to save him from the violent beatings that finally killed him eight months later.
Baby P was taken to hospital nine times, the last occasion coming two days before his death, when his spine had been broken but doctors failed to spot that he had been paralysed because he was “quite miserable and crying” and so, they said, it was not possible to make a “full examination”.
The catalogue of missed opportunities, revealed in court documents, begin on March 1 2006, the date of Baby P’s birth. It shows how medical complaints escalated from minor childhood infections to increasingly distressing injuries.
It includes excuses given to explain Baby P’s injuries, which become more severe once the mother’s boyfriend moved in.
The catalogue includes:
October 13 2006, “bruising to head and chest / accidental fall downstairs”,
December 19 2006, Defendant and mother arrested regarding assault, with P receiving a leg x-ray two days later.
April 5 2007, P is pushed into a fireplace, something the defendant says was done by another child.
June 8 2007, P is registered for neglect, but continues to return to hospital with ear infections and head lice.
August 1, 2007, P seen by doctors at St Annes Hospital who notes he is “quite miserable crying” so they are unable to make a full examination.
August 3, 2007, emergency services receive a 999 call and P dies at hospital.
It was also claimed yesterday that the social worker responsible for Baby P’s welfare was dealing with 50 per cent more cases than the supposed maximum.
Maria Ward was allegedly dealing with 18 cases at the time of the boy’s death in August 2007 despite Haringey council’s guidelines stipulating that no more than 12 cases be allocated to each social worker. It says her caseload was seven families.
Miss Ward’s alleged predicament mirrors that of Lisa Arthurworrey, the social worker who had responsibility for Victoria Climbié when the eight-year-old was killed in Haringey in 2000. Miss Arthurworrey had 19 cases — a workload that Haringey said at the time was too high.
A spokesman for Haringey council said Miss Ward had seven families allocated to her, which it said was “in line with the average caseload for our social workers” but it refused to comment on whether the seven families included 18 different children.
Last week, the mother’s 32-year-old boyfriend and another man, Jason Owen, 36, were convicted of causing or allowing the death of Baby P. The mother, 27, had previously admitted a similar charge.
Meanwhile, Children’s Secretary Ed Balls could draft in a 'hit squad’ to take over the running of Haringey social services once an urgent inquiry into the Baby P incident has been completed, it was reported last night.
Hampshire’s head of children’s services John Coughlan has already been sent in to ensure that the correct procedures are being followed.
Mr Balls promised to “come down hard” on anyone who was found to have failed in their duty of care to Baby P when he receives an interim report into the child’s death on Dec 1. “Where serious mistakes are made there must be accountability and I will not hesitate in responding to what went wrong,” he said.
My opinionI find it sad that nobody really did anything for the abused child. The adults worry about our money and our honor, and sometimes we forget the most defenseless: the Children.
Today is the Day of the World's Children, and today more than ever we must think of them.
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