Source: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published on this website Thursday 28 November 2024 by Jill Powell

A mother who hid her new baby in a drawer in her bed for three years and fed her through a syringe has been jailed.The woman, who can’t be identified for legal reasons, hid the birth of her baby girl from her family and friends.

The baby was born in 2020 with a cleft palate and the mother, who says she gave birth in a bath at her home in Cheshire, initially fed her herself. Then, for a reason that the Crown Prosecution Service was never able to establish, she decided to place the baby in a drawer in her divan bed and leave her there. She came back now and again to feed her milky Weetabix through a medicine syringe and change the child’s nappies. 

As time went on, the mother went to work and took her other children to school and left the child in the drawer, alone for hours on end. The baby’s growth and physical and mental development was severely impacted by the lack of care, attention and food and the restrictions of a life spent in a drawer.

The child was discovered in February 2023, when a partner of the mother’s heard a noise from what he thought to be a baby. He had gone back into the house to use the toilet after the defendant had left her keys in the door. She usually didn’t allow him upstairs alone.  

He followed the noise and discovered a child of almost three years old with a cleft palate, matted hair and clearly malnourished. He ran from the house in shock and told his mother who then rang the mother of the defendant. Social workers and the police were called. Those first on the scene gave moving statements to the court about what they found.

The social worker stated: "Since March 2023 I have thought about (the baby) and this case often. 

"My initial feelings and thoughts when we entered the mother’s bedroom was of disbelief. From entering this room, the bed was high, possibly a double mattress, so I could not see (the baby).  Her mother walked round the side of the bed and I followed. I was taken aback by what I saw and was extremely shocked to see a baby looking up at me sat in a divan drawer. 

"(The baby) stared at me and was rocking back and forth. I looked at her mum and asked, ‘Is this where you keep her?’ The mother replied matter of factly, ‘yes in the drawer.’  I was shocked the mother did not show any emotion and appeared blasé about the situation. I asked had anyone else ever seen (the child)? Mum stated no. It became an overwhelming horror that I was probably the only other face X had seen apart from her mother’s. Having been a social worker since 2006, I have never experienced such an extreme case of blatant child neglect and cruelty. The mother showed no remorse or emotion which I found extremely difficult to comprehend."

The mother later told police officers that she’d been in an abusive relationship with the father of the baby and didn’t want to tell him she was pregnant. When the baby was examined by medical experts, she could not crawl, walk, talk or make any communicative noises and made repetitive “self-soothing” movements, such as rocking. 

She was also significantly malnourished, unkempt, dehydrated, she had an untreated cleft lip and palate, swollen abdomen, significant nappy rash, and poor muscle bulk.

She also had floppy limbs, swollen feet in an abnormal position and redness to the outer limbs. At the age of 35 months her development was markedly delayed and was the equivalent to that of a 10-month-old. It has been confirmed that the developmental delay was a result of the extreme nature of the neglect.

Within two weeks of her admission to hospital, the child was vocalising, seeking adult comfort and crying to make her needs known. She has continued to make progress and has been operated on twice to rectify the cleft palate. However, she still requires further surgery.

The mother pleaded guilty to four charges of child cruelty at a hearing at Chester Crown Court on 9 October 2024 and on the 26 November 2024s he was sentenced to a total of seven years and six months' imprisonment.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Rachel Worthington, of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said:

“This child has been subjected to extreme neglect of her health, development, and basic care needs since before she was born. She was left on her own for long periods of time, sleeping in an inappropriate and too small space, and receiving inadequate nutrition.When the mother went out with her other children or to work, the child was simply left to fend for herself.

“This child has never had a birthday present, a Christmas present or anything to recognise these days. She’s had no interaction with any of her siblings. She hadn’t known daylight or fresh air and didn’t respond to her own name when she was first found.

“This case has shocked all the prosecution team and has been very difficult to work on. After reading the evidence, I had to take myself away and try and process what I had read. I am a mother myself and simply couldn’t comprehend what this defendant had done or why.

“The motive behind the mother’s behaviour is still not clear, but that is not the role of the Crown Prosecution Service.Our job is to bring the person responsible to justice. That has now been done and it is the profound hope of the CPS that the victim in this case recovers sufficiently to live as full a life as possible.”

Source: Department of Health and Social Care published on this website Monday 25 November 2024 by Jill Powell

NHS managers who silence whistleblowers or endanger patients through misconduct could be barred from working in the NHS, under proposals being announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting this week.

A public consultation will be launched on Tuesday (26 November 2024) seeking views on government proposals to regulate health service managers, ensuring they follow professional standards and are held to account.

The Department of Health and Social Care will also consult on whether to introduce a new professional duty of candour on managers, and in addition to make managers accountable for responding to patient safety concerns.

The changes are part of the government’s work to rebuild Britain and get the NHS back on its feet. They are designed to tackle a culture of cover up which has been found to be present it several patient safety scandals in recent years.

Karin Smyth, Minister of State for Health, said: 

To turn around our NHS we need the best and brightest managing the health service, a culture of transparency that keeps patients safe, and an end to the revolving door that allows failed managers to pick up in a new NHS organisation.

Earlier this month the Secretary of State promised that as part of our 10 year plan for health we will reform the NHS so that it rewards success and acts decisively on failure.

Today’s announcement builds on that promise and help us build a health system that protects patients and is fit for the future.

Regulation will prevent the revolving door that allows individuals with a record of poor performance or misconduct to continue to work in the health service. It would deliver on the Government’s manifesto commitment to introduce professional standards and regulate NHS managers.

Tens of thousands of clinical and non-clinical managers work in the NHS but there is currently no single regulatory framework for them in the same way as doctors and nurses.

Options being considered by the consultation include a voluntary accreditation register, statutory barring mechanisms and full statutory registration.

Patients, health and care staff, and professional bodies are also being asked for their views on whether to introduce a statutory duty of candour which would make NHS managers legally accountable for responding to concerns about patient safety.

At a minimum, all board-level directors in NHS organisations in England, arm’s length body board level directors and integrated care board members will be under the new regulatory system.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks from Tuesday, after which the department will consider responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course. 

The move follows the announcement of a new College of Executive and Clinical Leadership to attract, develop and keep the best talent in NHS leadership.

Regulation will come alongside support and development, with managers being given the tools they need to meet standards with training offers.

NHS England is developing a single code of practice, standards and competencies for leaders and managers at all levels in the health service, together with a national training curriculum. 

 On Tuesday the Department of Health and Social Care will publish a report from a call for evidence on duty of candour, which was launched in December 2023.

Source: Youth Justice Board published on this website Tuesday 26 November 2024

Today is White Ribbon Day, an international campaign observed on 25 November each year, calling for the elimination of violence against women and girls.  

As the Chair of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and a former police officer, I’ve had the privilege of working across organisations that help to shape the lives of children and young adults, particularly those caught up in the youth justice system. My personal and professional journey has been driven by a commitment to safety and positive societal change.  

My time as a police officer meant I have witnessed first-hand the devastating impact of violence against women and girls. This issue is not just something we read about in headlines; it’s a daily reality for countless women. It tears apart individuals, families and communities.  

White Ribbon Day offers a powerful opportunity for men and boys to be allies for women and girls. I myself take an active role in promoting gender equality and challenging behaviours and attitudes that perpetuate violence against women and girls, and today I am calling on the youth justice sector to do the same. It is so important to have positive male role models within these spaces and beyond. 

White Ribbon Day also marks the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which runs until Human Rights Day on 10 December.  

Recent national and international events have highlighted the urgent need to address gender-based violence, alongside persistent misogyny in society, which have created a climate where women and girls often feel unsafe.  

To read more

Source: Home Office published on this website Friday 22 November 2024 by Jill Powell

Meeting a manifesto pledge to crack down on anti-social behaviour, the new Respect Orders will give the police and local councils powers to ban persistent offenders from town centres or from drinking in public spots such as high streets and local parks, where they have caused misery to local people. These will be piloted prior to national rollout to make sure they are as effective as possible.

Perpetrators can also be required to address the root cause of their behaviour by being mandated to undertake positive rehabilitation, such as attending drug or alcohol treatment services, or an anger management course to address the underlying causes of their behaviour. 

Failure to comply with Respect Orders will be a criminal offence. Police will have the ability to immediately arrest anybody who is breaching their Respect Order.

Police will also be given stronger powers to seize vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour will also be strengthened, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing the vehicles which bring misery to local communities. 

This will allow police to deal more swiftly with the scourge of off-road bikes in public parks and dangerous e-scooters on pavements, street racing and cruising. It will also assist the police in tackling car meets, which can see hundreds of cars gather in public spaces that often include loud aggressive engine revving and intimidating music.