A serious case report has detailed how social housing agencies could have done more for a child who died on the same night that his family was evicted from their home.

 

Baby ‘John’, who had been born six weeks prematurely, passed away at the age of 10 weeks, after his parents and one-year-old sister were thrown out of their Warwickshire family home.

 

The family had moved in with grandparents that night, and John was staying on the sofa with his mother. When the unnamed woman woke up the next day, she discovered that her son was dead.

 

Following the tragic incident, Warwickshire County Council launched a case review into the child’s death, and a report has unveiled some rather damning revelations.

 

As well as the lack of risk assessment while the mother gave birth in hospital, it has emerged that there was ‘an assumption by other professionals’ that social care was supporting and helping the family to manage their issues; this, of course, was not the case.

 

 

When the family was evicted, they were also forced to leave without key pieces of equipment including a travel cot, nappies and children’s clothing, as there was not enough room for them in the grandparents’ home.

 

“The agencies working with this family had not fully understood the issues at the heart of the case, and could have done more to mitigate the impact of the family’s eviction,” read the report.

 

In conclusion, it added: “A number of agencies were in contact with the family and, although child protection issues were not a causative factor in John’s death, we feel that there is important learning for all agencies from this case.”

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