THE FAMILY of a baby girl who was left in the care of an eight-year-old sibling the night before she died was known to the Health Service Executive for four years before the child was born.
The baby was the youngest of six children, and neglect of all of them was reported to the HSE on a number of occasions. However, these cases were dealt with on the duty system, which appears to have led to each report being dealt with in an “episodic manner, and the mother’s explanation being accepted on each occasion”.
The baby was born prematurely and remained in hospital for some time before being discharged.
Concerns were raised on numerous occasions about their mother’s alcohol abuse and reports the younger children were often left in the care of their eight-year-old sister while their mother went out for the night. Yesterday’s report noted there appeared to be a lack of co-ordination by the services regarding the referrals of neglect.
A child protection case conference was held two months before the death of the child, at which it was decided to place the children on the Child Protection Notification System. Family support services were also offered to the family.
Notes on the child’s file over the next two months showed ongoing inconsistent care of the children.
After the death of the baby girl, who died before reaching her first birthday, the other children were taken into care. Gardaí became involved and the mother pleaded guilty to the neglect of the six children.
The HSE commissioned a review of the case a year after the baby’s death. The report identifies eight crucial points arising from the case and makes recommendations. These include many made by previous inquiries, and deal with the need for robust management and accountability in departments delivering services to children and families to ensure compliance with statutory requirements.