Inspectorate urge improvements in case reviews dealing with child deaths

By The Press Association24th August 2016News ScotlandChild Abuse, Child Protection, Childrens Services, Inspection, News Scotland

A new report looking at reviews into child deaths in Scotland has identified a number of areas for improvement.

Significant case reviews (SCRs) are carried out when a youngster has died, been seriously harmed, or where they have been at risk of harm.

By examining the circumstances surrounding the cases, it is hoped that future tragedies may be prevented.

The Care Inspectorate is tasked with collating and reviewing SCRs to aid child protection committees, police, health staff and government ministers identify best practice.

The body looked at SCRs involving 23 children – 11 of whom died – which were carried out over three years from April 2012.

Five deaths were infants and pre-school aged children, with two of them dying while sleeping with their parents.

Six others were young people aged 15 to 17 who died “as a result of their own risk-taking” or self-harming behaviour, or who took their own lives.

Two-thirds of all the children who were the subject of an SCR were living with domestic abuse and two-thirds with parental mental health problems.

More than half were living with parental substance misuse.

Almost all were receiving a range of statutory and child protection service interventions at the time harm occurred, the Care Inspectorate said.

In its report, the body said some practitioners working in mental health did not give sufficient consideration to the potential impact of the patient’s difficulties on their role as a parent.

A weakness was also identified in planning and support for vulnerable unborn babies where the mother moves accommodation and there is confusion over which local authority and health board is responsible.

The majority of the SCRs identified training issues and almost half cited staffing difficulties as a factor in the case.

High staff turnover was a particular problem where it meant children were subjected to frequent changes of social worker and care arrangements.

The report makes several recommendations, including that the Scottish Government and child protection committees work together “to support better quality and greater consistency in approach”.

It added: “Chief officers and child protection committees should focus attention on implementing and embedding practice change as a result of learning from significant case reviews, even from ones out with their area.”

Chief executive Karen Reid (pictured) said: “Where harm happens, everyone involved in protecting children must do everything possible to ensure that practice changes, not just in the area where the harm occurred, but right across the country. The need to share learning makes this report so important.

“Strong local leadership and a clear focus on working together to improve outcomes for every child in Scotland are essential if we are to prevent harm, keep children safe and reduce health and social inequalities.”

Matt Forde, national head of service for NSPCC Scotland, said: “Significant Case Reviews have a vitally important role in improving child protection in Scotland and the report from the Care Inspectorate highlights significant weaknesses in how SCRs are currently carried out.

“When a child dies or is seriously harmed by abuse, it is absolutely crucial that the SCRs that follow enable all relevant lessons to be learned.

“We need a more evidence-based and systematic process to examine what went wrong in these cases but also, crucially, to examine what needs to change, including ensuring how everyone involved in child protection works together more effectively to prevent future cases.”