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Recriminations: The Baby P case a month on
Published on Decemebr 19, 2008
We have all read the press coverage and the allegations surrounding professional malpractice that resulted in the appalling injuries and death of Baby P. We are all left with a profound sense of grief and sadness that after the years of child death enquiries, we still fail to put the needs of vulnerable children first. Sadly Baby P won’t be the last child to die at the hands of his carers.
In the midst of all the recriminations and the ceaseless need that the media seems to have to highlight victims and scapegoats, we may forget the other children and adults within the extended family who may have witnessed events and felt powerless to do anything. They must be left with incredible distress and guilt as well as grieving for the death of Baby P. I hope that within the drama of the media furore, professionals will find the time and resources to ensure that the family receives the support that any bereaved family should be provided with to enable them to address the pain of grief, the loss of Baby P and the intrusion into the family. This is in addition of course to the trauma caused by the thoughts that things might have been done differently.
They need support to enable them to face their pain, to find a way to heal and strategies for coping with their pain and with the comments and attitudes of other people. The ripples effect so many people, let’s hope that the social workers, police officers and other professionals also receive the support that they need to recover, to learn and move forward in order to be effective members of the children’s workforce and be able to respond to the needs of other abused children and young people.
We must not allow the media furore that surrounds this tragic case, to scapegoat the front-line social / child care workers and health workers whilst at the same time failing to recognise how many of these caring professionals are under-resourced, under-supported, sometimes mismanaged and working under almost impossible case-load conditions.
