Why vulnerable children were failed – Moray councillor speaks out

A leading councillor last night admitted that the biggest shortcoming of Moray’s child-protection service was its inability to successfully and consistently share information.

Moray Council’s depute convener, Allan Wright, made the comments as he revealed the conclusion of an internal investigation looking at why failings in the service were not identified until after a government inspection.

Yesterday, the Press and Journal reported that a consultant paediatrician in Elgin, Willem van IJperen, had been suspended for failing to alert the police and social workers to an alleged sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl who was admitted to Dr Gray’s Hospital with a sexually transmitted infection.

In February, the child-protection service in Moray was criticised in a report by HM Inspectorate of Education. The report said there had been “significant delays” in the investigation of suspected abuse.

It also said the “immediate response” to concerns was unsatisfactory.

Many of the conclusions clashed with a self-evaluation previously carried out by agencies providing child- protection services in Moray.

Following publication of the HMIE report, an internal investigation was launched into why the serious failings of the service had not been identified in the in-house evaluation.

The conclusions were revealed yesterday at a meeting of Moray’s child-protection sub-committee.

Atholl Scott, head of internal auditors with the council, said the HMIE inspectors’ conclusions had been “more extensive” than the self-evaluation because of legislation which gave them the power to dig deeper.

He said professionals at the council believed “risks had been identified and managed in a proportionate manner”, but he acknowledged that the HMIE inspectors “did not concur” with that view.

External investigator Robert Murphy, the head of social work at Inverclyde Council, concluded that the poor report from HMIE was “to be expected” if all evidence was considered, but the council had been “honest” in its approach to present a balanced picture.

He said attempts to improve the service “were not fully appreciated” by the government inspectors and concluded by shifting responsibility from the local authority to other partner agencies.

“The performance of agencies outwith the council had a negative impact on the overall performance and therefore detracted from the service evidenced by the council,” he said.

Speaking last night, Mr Wright, the chairman of the child-protection sub-committee, said he was happy with the findings of the internal investigation.

The suspension of Dr van IJperen, he added, highlighted the urgent need for much better communication.

He said: “Sharing of information between the agencies is absolutely critical to delivering child protection to the very best of our abilities in the future.

“There’s definitely a recognition that this is the biggest shortcoming – an inability to successfully share information on a consistent basis.”

Mr Wright insisted these matters were “being addressed” through the service’s detailed action plan for the HMIE.

Last night, a spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said she was unwilling to comment further on the case of Dr van IJperen until the investigation was complete.

However, she said the health board had “invested in additional training” for staff and had appointed a child-protection adviser in Moray since the HMIE report was published.