Baby P: Sharon Shoesmith’s Torture And the Sun’s Grave Grab
BABY P is dead. Baby P was tortured.
Baby P is in the media. The Sun made land grab for his resting place. The Sun demanded that Sharon Shoesmith, then head of children’s services at Haringey Council, be sacked. The Sun demanded that others be sacked. No time to learn from mistakes, to improve by experience. Just go.
The Sun wasnted to show it cared for the little kiddies by making professional child carers enemies of the state. Come see the Baby Porn.
Now Shoesmith tells her side of the story:
THE SUN: “Shoesmith blames everyone but self”
Mrs Shoesmith blamed politicians and The Sun’s hard-hitting campaign for turning “a local tragedy into a national catastrophe”.
How The Sun Might Cost Haringey Over Baby P
“As a mum,” say the mums… “As a dad,” say the dads…. “As a parent,” say the parents… “We have a unique understanding to the tragedy…” Wimmin understand.
The stern-faced mum admitted she and her officials had not been prepared to handle the massive surge of public anger.
As a mum…
THE GUARDIAN (front page): “’Reckless’ minister has put children at risk – Shoemsith”
It’s an “Exclusive”
Speaking for the first time since her removal by Balls on live television in December, she claimed political opportunism and press hysteria had created “a local tragedy and a national catastrophe”.
Baby P sells paper: Three Baby Ps A Week, Every Week!
In a wide-ranging interview, the former Haringey children’s services director said she felt an inquiry ordered by Balls into child protection in the borough had been an attempt to “discredit” her. She said the report, carried out by Ofsted inspectors and used by Balls in support of his ¬decision to remove her, was misleading and lacked balance.
She accused Balls directly of making the task of protecting children in Haringey more difficult. The consequences of his “reckless” attack on Haringey, said Shoesmith, would be to make it “more of an uphill struggle” to achieve his aim of raising the standing and status of the social work profession.
Baby P: Too Late For Ed Balls But Gordon Brown Can Still Save Him
DAILY MIRROR: “Baby P boss Sharon Shoesmith: I thought of suicide”
Sharon Shoesmith said she was driven to thoughts of suicide after a receiving a series of abusive anonymous calls.
The Baby P brand.
One man rang the former Director of Children’s Services at North London’s Haringey Council every morning at 5am with a different suggestion for how to kill herself.
Ms Shoesmith said: “You do consider how to stop it all. You can just walk off the end of the Tube platform and stop it all and I certainly did think about that on one occasion.
“There was certainly another occasion in the middle of the night when I gathered up all the paracetamol that existed in the house and there was nothing like enough.”
Baby P - Where were you?
DAILY MAIL: “’I felt like killing myself over Baby P scandal,’ admits sacked council chief”
The 55-year-old revealed the national outcry from the public over the toddler’s death and the media publicity that ensued made her suffer periods of uncontrollable shaking.
Baby P was the baby of hearts. A pet cause.
THE INDEPENDENT: “Baby P chief accuses Balls of ‘breathtaking recklessness’”
In a statement, Mr Balls said: “I make no apology for the actions I took in Haringey last December, which I judged absolutely necessary to make sure children in that borough are properly protected. Social workers do an incredibly difficult and sometimes dangerous job every day to keep children safe. They are unsung heroes of our country. But when things go wrong it is vital that we act.
Heroes. Sun language. But in her defence:
“That is why I sent in the independent children’s services, police and health inspectors to investigate the situation in Haringey. Their report was devastating and revealed serious failures in the management of Haringey children’s services. I believe that every community, every parent and every social worker would expect me to put the safety of children first. That is what I did – and faced with the same situation again I would have no hesitation in taking exactly the same decisions.”
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “The disgraced head of children’s services at Haringey Council has attacked the Government’s handling of the Baby P affair, accusing Ed Balls, the Children’s Secretary, of “breathtaking recklessness”.
Baby P – P is for Politics.
Baby P Grew Into A Feral Parasite Infesting Our Streets.
BBC:
She said: “I was inundated to resign from people who didn’t know me, didn’t know anything about me.
“I was equally inundated by so many people asking me not to go, to be strong, how could they help me, please hang on in there, we know it’s difficult, we need you, don’t go.”She added that to resign would have been the weakest thing to do because her staff needed her so much at that time..
Baby P - a chidl is killed and the media - group think - becomes the story…
Posted: 7th, February 2009 | In: Key Posts, Media Comments (52) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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February 9th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
C&C
Well, now we have Modern Matrons, so a Modern Head Social Worker may be just around the corner.
The one blindingly obvious point which stands out is that Sharon Shoesmith had never been a social worker of any size, shape or form, so what the hell she was doing in charge of the social workers is beyond me.
Many moons ago when I first started work I had a nice old fashioned boss who took the view that if I was going to be in charge I had to be able to do everything that my staff could do. So in the 3 months before my ‘proper’ training started I began in the filing room and worked my way up, though fortunately everybody agreed that typing was an arcane art which nobody other than typists could hope to master.
I appreciate that being a social worker is a different order of magnitude to paper shuffling, but I think the priniciple is a good one; Sharon Shoesmith may have been the best thing since sliced bread when it came to schools but she didn’t know where to begin when it came to the dizzying array of specialisms you have outlined. What was worse was that she was so ignorant that she didn’t realise that she was ignorant…
February 9th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
coolandcalm
I’d let you be in charge.
February 9th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
and they get paid how much
a year for that? it stinks.
February 9th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Lone
Actually, they do have an excuse - they need to get to the golf course.
February 9th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
There are no so many different layers to Social Work and so many different teams operating under different criteria that absolute rules of practice are no longer practical.
Older people, Adults with Learning Disabilities, Adults with Physical Disabilities, Children with L/D, Children with P/D, Children at risk, Children in Care, Adolescents, Mental Health…….. and so on.
All spread to thinly and with all with the accompanying data protection issues.
and then there’s funding. if targets aren’t met then funding is witheld and posts are frozen… then less targets are met because there aren’t enough workers on the ground…….. all that does is encourage failing services to massage the figures.
Please can I be put in charge of the whole shebang and take it back to year zero?
February 9th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Lone
Doctors are pretty rubbish now. We used to have what we referred to as an ‘old horse doctor’ and she’d bash and prod and examine till she found out what was wrong with us and then would tell us to get rest/exercise/stout etc as much as she’d give us some pills.
Now the doctor barely talks, hardly ever examines, mostly thinks you’re fine and only ever hands out pills.
We’re a wealthy area - so they’ve got no excuse.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
June
I’m sorry your Mum’s ill and I hope they can do something for her. x
Elder abuse is terrible - but I think if they live independently and don’t have dementia or learning difficulties - since they’re adults - they need to make a complaint before steps would be taken.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
In Baby P’s case the doctor did the one wholly unacceptable thing; she failed to examine the patient. It is less easy to find absolute rules of practise in social work, and therein lies a problem…
February 9th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Dairy
just seen your reply, I agree it should be taken higher, but with Ms. Shoesmiths targets of importance being messed around with……
When animals were removed,before the Duty of Care, the police always had to attend,rung for by the person at the location. I’m not sure if they still have to call them , but why can’t the junior social worker do the same,there is too much redtape, and people usually are very sure of their ground when they do call the police.
But in Baby’ P’s case the doctor should have admitted him to hospital instead of saying he was cranky -toddlers are usually happy/content, if they cry and are miserable its worth finding out why, and a full on tantrum is recognisable by anyone
February 9th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I’ve burnt my fair skin to a frazzle all my life all over the world thinking I may just one day turn a gorgeous golden brown but I didn’t. I got Bowens instead! and yes I’m off to the sun again next week but with the sunblock and a hat.
I don’t blame your mother for refusing more tests. My mother would never have anything done and she died at 95 still cussing and cursing the doctors! She insisted that once they start they don’t stop… I’m beginning to agree with her.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
C&C
We haven’t got a full diagnosis, she’s refusing more tests, can’t blame her really she has also had cancer twice in the past decade and is thoroughly pee’d off with being poorly
February 9th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
June… is it Bowens Disease?
February 9th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Karen
Think we are all agreed that Sharon Shoesmith should be removed from her job, perhaps being made of stone she could join the bankers?
But this govt tie the wrong hands,and pay the wrong people, so it is a full roots and branch and trunk need felling.
Targets and costs should be minimised in importance, and more people effectively trained and employed where it really counts
February 9th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Karen
Because they can be as helpless and vulnerable to abuse as are young babies.
The old girl in question is my mother, just getting dressed by herself she bruises, any knock by say a book or a knitting needle and she bleeds. She got stuck in the bath for an hour (she lives alone) her legs were black and blue and her arms and a huge bruise on her chest ( she has a shower now).
If we help her up out of a chair or bed her elbows bruise and are painful for weeks, its agreed that she propels herself around to minimise contact.Her doctor listens to her chest on her back, not her chest as its covered in little ring marks from the stethoscope.
This is what social workers are up against
She has osteoporosis, and a pre cancer skin condition caused by falling asleep whilst sunbathing 20 years ago in Australia
February 9th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
I agree, June, it is very easy to condemn from outside the situation, but if the social worker’s concerns were ignored, they should have taken it higher, or directly to the police, especially if some “hulking bastard was threatening” them as you suggest?
it may be contentious, but social work in this area should be for seasoned professiionals with a cynical and suspicious nature, not wet-behind-the-ear college leavers with their head full of human rights - the parents’, that is….
we seem to be - as a society - so much more willing to bang on and do something about the really unimportant stuff (Jonathan Ross for example) and yet when it comes to a child’s life, everyone sits on the sidelines and watches….
February 9th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
There still needs to be accountability. A system will almost never change while the same boss and the same personnel are in place.
Even in Uni Profs get the chop if their outdated ideas have become an embarrassment (it rarely makes the press but there’s been some vicious oustings).
February 9th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
June
I’d call a doctor. And if that one was useless I’d get another doctor. And if I thought she was being attacked I’d tell the social workers or the police.
Why an elderly lady????
February 9th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
dairy
C&C says that social workers cannot handle children without consent. Therefore, if consent is refused it should be law that the police are called and the child removed, this is where govt steps in
Its possible that this person did do her duty, but management failed her, its a known fact since Victoria Climbie that young inexperienced people are working with the families and can be easily intimidated.
Its only to easy for us to condemn from the safety our keyboards, we were not there, would we be so brave with some hulking bastard threatening us?
February 9th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I meant the carers are responsible - obviously not the Dad for the injuries or the death.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Karen
be fair, that is at post mortem.
But on a living fully clothed seated child, with lying cruel shits for parent/guardians….
I’m not saying the system is perfect, but your clear 20/20 vision is only occurring after post mortem and not even having been present.Or knowing of the child’s existence.
The child had a father who hadn’t been near for months, he failed him too.
There does need to be an enquiry , and less Govt nitpicking in the form of excessive paperwork, more protection for social workers, they do get threatened by abusive parents, and attacked also.
Now tell me this, what would you do with an elderly lady who is constantly covered in bruises and wounds which won’t heal
February 9th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
the parent/guardian/whatever you want to call them (and I think we could all come up with a few choice descriptions) are part of the problem - you are never going to stop this type of scumbag from abusing their children, all you can do is have a system in place which tries to protect the kids as best as possible. In order to do that, you have to have properly-trained people who have a bit of sense about them and don’t get fobbed off by so-called explanations from the adults involved.
it is the DUTY of the social worker to be suspicious and maybe even overly-invasive or interfering - the cry goes up about human rights of the parents no doubt, but let’s not forget these are children who have ALREADY been identified as being at risk of being harmed and therefore surely there is a case for over-protection if anything, rather than blank acceptance of the word of someone who may possibly be the perpetrator?
why wasn’t the baby handled by the social worker? surely then they could have seen something was wrong, or am I being too simplistic?
it is therefore the responsibility of the social workers to identify the problems before the real damage is done - if they are not doing so, then there is something wrong with the management and the person in charge should take responsibility, ie. in this case Sharon Shoesmith.
surely I can’t be the only one to find this woman’s whingeing about apparently being almost driven to suicide (note, “almost”) pathetic and self-obsessed?
the child died in horrible circumstances and in terrible pain - Sharon Shoesmith is still alive and was comfortably paid off - there doesn’t seem to be much equality there to me.
if she wasn’t prepared to take the rap she shouldn’t have been in the job in the first place…
February 9th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
The parents are responsible for injuring and killing the child.
The Social Work department and the Doctor (and the Police) are responsible for not noticing how seriously injured he was and for not removing him from the situation. They get paid for it - so it’s not wrong to question how effective they are.
It’s 2 different things.
The killers aren’t an issue because they’re convicted and in prison where they should be.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Every time I go to the doctors they never notice what’s wrong. in fact every time I go tot the doctors I don’t actually see a doctor. It’s always a ’staff nurse’. If I need to see a doctor I have to book it in advance. have you ever heard of anything so freaking ridiculous.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
These were the injuries they found at his post-mortem. I think there were signs that the professionals should have notice.
Eight broken ribs and a broken back, with another area of bleeding around the spine at neck level.
• Numerous bruises, cuts and abrasions, including a deep tear to his left ear lobe, which had been pulled away from his head.
• Severe lacerations to the top of his head, including a large gouge which could have been caused by a dog bite.
• Blackened finger- and toenails, with several nails missing; the middle finger of his right hand was without a nail and its tip was also missing, as if it had been sliced off.
• A tear to his fraenulum, the strip of skin between the middle of the upper lip and the gum, which had partially healed.
• One of his front teeth had also been knocked out and was found in his colon. He had swallowed it.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Yes June. It appears that even the father is blaming everyone else. Dare I ask where he was during those months?
The parents should be the protectors and they BOTH let the baby down.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Karen, where or what blame do you place on the parent or guardian in all this?
February 9th, 2009 at 11:56 am
A broken rib is agony, sometimes when the spine is damaged the nerves don’t register anything
February 9th, 2009 at 11:54 am
and according to the doctor, cranky. So obviously some movement there. The worrying thing is that the DOCTOR didn’t see it.
Yet you claim it was obvious
February 9th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Also there were lots of bruises and cuts and a pattern of him being injured at home and not injured when he was with the child minder.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:53 am
In the social workers case - she should have requested that his face be cleaned.
Also - he would have been in pain - and there would have been signs of that. I had a broken rib once and I was wincing all the time (till I got the painkillers).
February 9th, 2009 at 11:49 am
June
He was paralysed.