Recently in child death Category

If you missed the Today programme this morning, have a listen here for an interesting discussion about the recent news on vitamin D deficiency - now accepted as a growing problem in Britain and, doctors say, a possible contributing factor to Sudden Infant Deaths. 

Doctors and solicitors describe to the programme how vitamin D deficiency and the child bone disease rickets could lead to miscarriages of justice involving allegations of child abuse. And two senior pathologists tell the BBC historic cases should be reviewed to examine whether the condition played a role.

Picture credit: ZoeLouisePhotography

Morning all. Here's a quick round-up of interesting social care news I've spotted today, starting with a story in the Yorkshire Post that reports campaigners have called for tighter deadlines to publish serious case reviews in full. 

The Post reports that just seven of the 40 inquries into child deaths or serious abuse cases completed in the last 18 months have been published in full. 

Serious case reviews yet to be published in full, it reports, include the inquiries into the abduction of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews and the attacks on two boys in Edlington.

Cornwall Council says its social work department was not to blame for the suicide of a vulnerable schoolgirl, despite commissioning a report costing £100,000 which revealed serious failings by at least six care agencies, according to the Western Morning News.

The Daily Mail reports that 218 young people went missing from care in Ireland last year (although, if our investigation is anything to go by the true figure could be far higher).

And some more positive news: Cafcass' specialist child protection team, based at the organisation's National Business Centre in Coventry, has been rated 'good' by Ofsted.

Picture credit: comedy_nose

Michael Le Vell, who plays mechanic Kevin Webster in the soap, is said to have "strenuously" denied the allegation. He was arrested on 30 September and bailed until 16 November.

In other news: The BBC reports that Birmingham's safeguarding children services are improving, despite facing another serious case review, according to a watchdog chairman.

And a serious case review has been launched into the murder of a six-month-old child, Ollie McBride, in Preston.

Picture credit: Rex Features

Social workers were today slammed in a Daily Mail headline - nothing new there, I know - for failing to spot severe post-natal depression in a mother who killed her two young sons. 

Only, further reading of the story - ahem, the first line - revealed social workers had nothing to do with the case. It was in fact NHS health visitors who missed key warning signs.

The rest of the story backed this up yet the headline still screamed: 'Nurse who killed two sons was 'let down by social services who failed to spot warning signs' of severe post-natal depression'.

So health professionals mess up, and social workers still get the blame. Glad we've cleared that up. (Since writing this, I'm pleased to see the Mail has corrected its mistake. Perhaps due to complaints from social workers. But the point remains: social workers were never a part of the story yet they still managed to creep into the headline. What does that say?)

Meanwhile, the Irish Times reveals that social workers in Ireland have to ignore hundreds of potentially serious child protection concerns due to understaffing. Sadly this has clear parallels with our survey of social workers involved in child protection.

Picture credit: exfordy

Terrible story in the papers today about a baby boy who starved to death in North West London, just days before his mentally unstable mother died of HIV-related complications. A coroner found the child had not eaten or drunk anything for several days before he died.

According to reports, the family had been visited around 15 times by social services in the six months leading up to the baby's death. Coroner Dr Paul Knapman - who reluctantly had to delay the inquest because it was revealed the baby's father had not seen key documents - condemned the vast amounts of public money "wasted" in the tragic case.