Dec 01 2008
Horrific Child Abuse: Baby P Report Released
The investigation into the death of Baby P was completed today and released shortly before Children’s Minister Ed Balls delivered a press conference. It should come as no surprise that the report was damning.
Baby P was 17 months old when he died and any person living in the UK has undoubtedly heard all about the sickening treatment he received from his own mother. How any mother could harm her own child is beyond me. This poor boy was tortured by the people that should have loved him most in the world over a sustained period of time. His 17 months on this Earth were absolutely horrific, but the fact that neither his social worker or doctor noticed that he has bruises, cuts, broken ribs and was paralysed from the waist down proves that they let this little boy down horrendously.
Haringey Children’s Services severely let Baby P and Victoria Climbie, a little girl that was also tortured by a family member 8 years ago, down and no more mistakes must be made.
I cannot imagine how hard the job of social worker must be on a day to day basis, especially when they are limited by such a burocratic system. The majority of social workers do a fantastic job and should earn far more than the pittance they do. However, in such a job there is little room for minor errors let alone the gross ones made in this case. Similarly, doctors may misdiagnose and miss slight ailments but they should not miss paralysis and a broken back. As such, I have no idea how the women that contributed to Baby P’s death have still remained in employment up until this point. They did not strike the blows that killed him but they did nothing to stop them and so are just as accountable.
Ed Balls announced that Sharon Shoesmith, the Head of Children’s Services, has been sacked as a result of this report, thank goodness. The heartless robot refused to apologise after details of Baby P’s death emerged and stated that she and her staff had done nothing wrong. This report proves otherwise and I am glad she has had the arrogant sile wiped off herface. More importantly though, I am so glad that child protection is finally being reviewed so seriously. One child dying is one child too many and no little boy or girl should ever have to suffer what Baby P had to suffer. “Management failures” are not good enough.
Although the press conference is still ongoing as I finish this, changes have been provided for with this report. However, the Baby P report must only be the start of considerable change. More social workers are needed for child protection. Less burocratic systems must be adopted. No more children must be neglected and die in the same way that Baby P did. This generation has to read about the abuse, the horror and the outcome because we must make sure that change happens. It must happen for the future of our society.
