Lessons Not Learnt

[Octavius]

Justice has been done, minimum 18 years, but again we are left with another inquiry where lessons learnt go ignored.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/24/rebecca-shuttleworth-life-sentence-abuse-son

Victoria Climbie, Baby P, and now this poor lad. Really, what is the point of lesson learning inquiry after inquiry? Are they really that futile?

[andy-hughes]

I find the phrase 'lessons have been learned' belongs in the same box as 'my door is always open' - more often than not it means the exact opposite of what it says.

[Sqad]

andy..LOL

[Octavius]

Perhaps more "your complaint has been duly noted and filed in the appropriate place".

[jno]

it depends. I think it's fair to say that each case (possibly not every one, but lots of them) presents its own challenges, and mostly the systems set up to deal with them succeed in doing so, but occasionally they don't.

To know just how badly things are going we'd need to know more than just the few headline cases you've mentioned (and they are fairly few) and how many times social services intervention has made a difference. In other words, the non-news that doesn't make the paper (and is immeasurable anyway because how can you count catastrophes that didn't happen?)

So it's quite quite possible that lessons are learnt, and that subsequent similar events are dealt with more successfully.

Just to add that the big problem in this case seems to have been that the mother moved around a lot, and services maintained by individual councils aren't necessarily set up to monitor such cross-border movements. Should they be? Can they be? Is it economically possible at a time when councils are under financial pressure? These will be lessons that have to be studied this time round.

[mikey4444]

Can't agree with you more Octavius. Yet again the authorities have admitted that they "missed a significant number of opportunities to intervene"

It would seem to be rather pointless in having another Enquiry but I'm not sure how else to proceed ? Perhaps we should sack a few people straight away and then let them complain, if they can.

[cassa333]

It's not us it's the system. Computer says no.

From what I read and see leasons don't seem to get learnt. The excuses are always about the system but even if individuals are made accountable they end up with a good old bung to move on.

One of the things wrong is that the NHS has no viable working intergrated cmputer system. It's hand doesn't know what it's arse is doing let alone what people are doing.

Take a child to hospital and they suspect abuse they inform SS but if they had a proper health record they could also flag past ones up as well.

The same should be true of SS. An intigrated system that can be tracked rather than just reacted to on what happens in one area.

But that is too close to big brother for some.

[Octavius]

Didn't they try installing a £12bn super IT system for the NHS cassa? It got canned.

[pixie373]

I agree with jno. You hear about the failures more and it has also made the news when children have been taken "unnecessarily" from their parents. With all the best will in the world, i don't think we'll have a 100% success rate. And because of the nature of the work of Social Services, any mistake could be a life-changing one. I do think there needs to be better co-ordination though.

[Octavius]

I can understand that instant decision element pixie, and I did consider all the "successful" cases we don't hear about when I initially posted. But this abuse went on for 2 years, the grandparents even photographed bite marks on his face and bruises on his body, and yet it went on ... for 2 years.

[cassa333]

Exactly Octavius, They can't even get a bloody computer system to work let alone look after children.

Half the trouble is they don't know what they want or how to get it. Put the NHS in private hands and make them accountable. The system would soon work a hell of a lot better. Providing of course the numptys commisioning it made the contract work in our favour rather than the private company. But I don't think they could do that right either.

[pixie373]

Yes, Octavius. It is disgusting. Why did the grandparents/family/friends not push it more in that time? You would hope someone would stand up for a child being abused.

[murraymints]

Why did no one just go in take the child to safety and deal with consequences later...if a neighbour was like that and I knew..I'd go in...sod the so called law...that could be sorted later...the life of a child is paramount....

[mikey4444]

murraymints...well said ! There is far too much of this "turning the other cheek" business, and as you say, a child's life may be at stake.

I reported a neighbour a few years ago because she was obviously neglecting her small boy. I did think about it for a few days and discussed it with a family member but came to the conclusion that something needed to be done. So I made the phone call. It had to be anonymously as I live on quite a rough estate, where all sorts of things go on. The result was that the child was taken into care eventually, luckily before he suffered any serious or fatal injuries.

This wasn't an easy call to make but I have no doubt whatsoever that if I hadn't made the effort, the outcome would have been worse. Sometimes you have to stand up for things in life that you think are important, and that is what I did.

[anneasquith]

no lessons have been learnt.................babies/children are still being murdered. poor lovely wee boy .

[emmie]

lessons are never learned, if they were, this wouldn't be like a revolving door of cases.