Neglect and serious case reviews (PDF, 735KB) - nspcc

parental learning disability
Parental learning disabilities are rarely highlighted in serious case reviews although
our analysis of these reviews has shown that there are often indications that parents
had learning problems which were not assessed or addressed. The rigorous demands of
these children’s highly complex health care needs present serious challenges to parents
with a learning disability.
parents struggling to keep up with medical care
Despite initial attempts to address the child’s health needs, some parents soon began to
struggle to care adequately for their child. This was often noticed through difficulties
keeping up with numerous medical appointments. This was sometimes attributed to an
overwhelming number of appointments with specialists and GPs; to a lack of transport,
or difficulties balancing work and medical appointments. Some parents attended general
medical appointments but failed to appear at specialist appointments, for example eye
tests, or hearing aid fittings. There was a pattern of frequently rescheduled appointments
which tended not to be kept.
professionals shielding parents from children’s social care
In several of the cases, hospital staff were concerned about the child’s development
or growth, or suspected that the parent(s) were not properly administering the child’s
medication long before the incident which prompted the SCR. Schools/nurseries likewise
may have noted concerns over the child’s failure to grow or to socially engage with
other children. In nearly all of these cases, however, staff did not share their concerns
with CSC, sometimes in an attempt to shelter the family from further professional
involvement, or due to a lack of awareness of what these concerns might mean.
Some schools attempted referrals but filled in forms incorrectly or did not present the
information cogently resulting in CSC rejecting the referrals prior to investigating the
case further.
tipping points in family circumstances
3. A thematic analysis of neglect
This small sample of medical neglect cases all displayed a negative turning point, or tipping
point, in the child’s life connected to a specific change in the family’s circumstances.
This was particularly true after the introduction of a new family member – either a new
baby, or a new partner. Once this new family member arrived, the ill (or disabled) child’s
needs were increasingly neglected. Sometimes the neglect was deliberate as in one case
where the child was forced to sleep outside in the garden shed, ostensibly because of
bad behaviour, and was thus physically and symbolically excluded from the family. In
other cases, neglectful care came in the form of lack of supervision as well as a failure
to appropriately administer medication and attend to health needs.
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