‘Authorities failed to protect Hakeem’
A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy died in “horrendous” circumstances after child protection services failed to protect him from his drug addict mother, a serious case review has found.
Hakeem Hussain suffered an asthma attack and died “gasping for air” in the garden of a house he was staying in with his mother.
Laura Heath was in a drug-induced sleep on the night of her son’s death after smoking three bags of heroin. She told investigators, “Hakeem should never have been left with me”.
The 40-year-old, formerly of Long Acre, Nechells, Birmingham, was jailed for 20 years after being convicted of gross negligence manslaughter following a trial at Coventry crown court.
Justice Dove blamed Hussain’s death on “catastrophic and deplorable” parenting.
A review by Birmingham Safeguarding Children Partnership (BSCP), published last Thursday (1), said authorities “could and should have done better” to protect Hussain, who died “needlessly” on November 26, 2017.
Two days prior to his death, a nurse warned authorities that Hussain “could die at the weekend” after his safety was scored as zero out of 10 by the nurse and also by a family outreach worker at his school, Nechells Primary.
No immediate action was taken, with a social worker assigned to speak to Heath on the following Monday – by which time the “bright and bubbly” boy was dead.
Hussain had told teachers at his school that he was “five per cent happy, 100 per
cent angry and 1,000 per cent scared”. He also said: “I have not had any dinner, I sometimes have breakfast, sometimes lunch, but not during Saturdays and Sundays.”
The review found the school did not intervene when his attendance and performance dropped over his “unhappiness and fear of repeated asthma attacks”.
Penny Thompson, the independent chairwoman of the BSCP, said: “Through the serious case review, we have learned all those organisations and individuals who came into professional contact with Hakeem could and should have done better.
“With the benefit of hindsight, the extent of Hakeem’s neglect was there to be seen well before the decision to place him on a child protection plan two days before his death. In particular, the school did not escalate their concerns effectively.
“There was a lack of join-up across health service organisations and ineffective discharge for his asthma.
“The GP did not recognise a need to share important information without consent because of the risk of significant harm.”
The police were also criticised for failing to identify safeguarding issues while reporting incidents.
Heath’s other children had previously been taken into care and Hussain’s father was in prison at the time of his death. The review found social services gave priority to “other vulnerable family members” and as a result, “Hakeem’s needs to be properly seen, and his voice heard, was sadly lacking”.
Thompson said there have been “significant developments and improvements in services” since 2017.
“We cannot guarantee no child will suffer neglect... but learning from Hakeem’s death has contributed to positive and lasting improvements in partnership working for the protection of children.”