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OSCB publishes a Serious Case Review concerning Child M

Date: Monday, 23rd Sep 2019 | Category: General

Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board (OSCB) has today published a Serious Case Review (SCR) into the tragic death of a young boy, Child M, from injuries inflicted by his mother. Child M’s mother pleaded guilty to causing his death by manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was made the subject of an indefinite hospital order under the Mental Health Act.

Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board commissioned an independent serious case review (SCR) in relation to the services provided for Child M and his mother.

A Mental Health Homicide Review into the care and treatment of the mother was commissioned by NHS England.

Both independent reviews of the case found that Child M’s death could not have been predicted or prevented by professionals working with the family.

The report concludes that the “review of records gives no indication that any of the professionals involved missed signs of a serious deterioration in the mother’s mental health or risk to Child M in the days or weeks leading up to his death.”

Richard Simpson, independent chair of the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board, said: “This is first and foremost a human tragedy when a young boy lost his life. We have conducted a thorough review that has led to recommendations and a comprehensive Action Plan. The tragedy is that despite many workers and agencies doing excellent work to support the family they were not able to predict and, therefore, prevent this loss of life. My thoughts are with the family at this extremely difficult time”.

To read the Serious Case Review Overview and Executive Summary, please visit the Serious Case Reviews webpage.

To read the Learning Summary, please visit the Learning from Case Reviews webpage.