‘OPPORTUNITIES WERE MISSED...’

THE independent chair of the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership, Steve Atkinson, has responded to the report.

He said: “Firstly, it is reassuring to all involved to be able to report that the baby who suffered the serious injuries identified in the report has now made a good recovery.

“Having said that, we asked that a thorough independent review be undertaken, and this identified a number of areas where improvements were necessary and made recommendations to that effect; all of which were accepted and have been implemented. In particular, the review highlighted the importance of early assessment of difficulties emerging in families.

“In this case, there was an optimistic view taken by practitioners about the situation in the family, based on discussion with the mother, and this did not consider fully the history of the family or the vulnerabilities of the parents.

“Opportunities were missed also to understand fully the bruises to the baby at an early stage.

“These and other issues identified in the review have resulted in Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership requesting urgent action on the recommendations as they emerged as a consequence.

“The partnership will continue to monitor the implementation of this work to ensure that progress is sustained.”