CHILD ABUSE: England: Baby P and Ms Shoesmith's criticism of the system in which she worked

"Sharon Shoesmith accused of 'staggering conceit'" That's the headline. As "owner" of this blog I usually do not comment, and although there is fair argument about Ms Shoesmith's personal responsibility, her own criticisms of the system in which she worked should be well known. The article has been pruned to show her criticisms. The appalling case of "Baby P" is described in my book.

David Barrett, 28 May 2011

Ms Shoesmith, could be in line for a £1 million compensation payout after winning a Court of Appeal ruling that she was unfairly sacked as director of children’s services at Haringey Council after the 17-month-old toddler was killed while under her department’s supervision.

In an angry interview which will only heighten controversy over her actions, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that other agencies were involved in the failures which led to the toddler’s death – and said it was impossible to stop the deaths of children.

She went on: “This is much more complex than saying 'You are responsible. Let’s sack you and the whole psyche of the nation can be at peace’.

“You cannot stop the death of children. Across the country there are 39,000 children on child protection registers today.
“As a director of children’s services I cannot control what the police do, I cannot control what health does. I cannot control the fact that when a social worker rings to get an appointment at a hospital she cannot get it for four months,
“I cannot control the fact when a social worker is referring a child for abuse that she rings up and finds that a case has not been allocated to a police officer for four months.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/baby-p/8543908/Baby-P-chief-Sharon-Shoesmith-accused-of-staggering-conceit.html