|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
|
|
David Southall - Covert Video Surveillance In 1997, the controversial paper on covert video recordings of Life Threatening Child Abuse was subject to debate.The British Medical Journal at the time reported, "Parents were secretly filmed and were seen on film attempting to suffocate, kicking, punching, and poisoning their children, who were aged from 2 months to 44 months. The covert surveillance, which was carried out at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London and at North Staffordshire Hospital in Stoke on Trent between 1986 and 1994, uncovered deliberate suffocation in 30 of the children. The video evidence led to care orders in 38 of the 39 cases and to 33 criminal prosecutions. After the abuse was detected 23 parents or step parents were identified by a psychiatrist as clearly having a serious personality disorder". Download full paper from here. Following this paper, David Southall and his team was subjected to a campaign of harassment from the Anti Msbp Campaigning Groups. Professor A W Craft provided a view of paediatricians being vilified. Dr Martin Samuels told the Telegraph 19 Feb. 2005 that he sees Southall as a ‘courageous’ man who has been victimized by angry, disappointed and deceitful parents who have nothing left to lose. Professsor Southall told the Telegraph "‘Because of what has happened to me,’ he says, ‘I am extremely concerned about children who are being subjected to life-threatening abuse. Doctors are not the issue here, but they are often the first line of contact. As the law stands, they can walk away – there is no onus on professionals to report suspicions of abuse. If the consequences are potentially serious for the professional, there is an inhibition in so doing. To avoid this we should have mandatory reporting.’" In conclusion, the Professor who invented the cast iron way of catching child abusers, is being attacked himself by those who may well be abusers. In fact, the individuals campaigning against these issues show an uncanny resemblance to the personality traits described in child abusers. We are featuring this paper because it is an important piece of historical research to combat the problem of increasing child abuse. The National Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention of Child Abuse revealed that Britain is failing to protect many of its children.The net result of the above is what any child abuser would wish for - a way of continuing their business of child abuse without any accountability. The anti msbp campaigners provide no solution for this emergency. While newspaper column inches have been dedicated to a purported sufferings of a minority group, no one has looked into the emergency situation of unprotected children who may even today be subjected to life threatening child abuse. Covert Video Recordings of Life-threatening Child Abuse: Lessons for Child Protection David P. Southall, MD, FRCP*‡; Michael C. B. Plunkett, BM, MRCPI‡; Martin W. Banks, MA, MA (Econ), M Soc Sc, CQSW§; Adrian F. Falkov, BSc, MB, MRCPsychi; and Martin P. Samuels, MD, FRCP* Since the landmark publications of Kempe1 and Adelson2 in the early 1960s, accounts of longstanding and sometimes fatal abuse continue to appear. A recent report of the National Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention of Child Abuse revealed that Britain is failing to protect many of its children. Similar situations prevail in most English speaking countries, including the United States, with varying levels of support and protection given to the children identified. In developing countries, there are minimal resources, legislation, and procedures for child protection. The true extent of child abuse remains uncertain, and there is ongoing debate regarding the structure of social and health care systems that will best detect and manage this complex problem. The circumstances associated with child mistreatment may range from a sudden isolated loss of control by a parent to circumstances in which there is a long-standing catalog of premeditated and intentional acts to harm the child. In the former situation, there may be multiple cumulative personal, family, and environmental pressures conspiring to push individuals beyond thresholds of restraint. The latter form of abuse, however, may involve injuries such as multiple fractures of different ages, deliberate burns or scalds, pinch or human bite marks, and the induction of illness in the child. Such injuries indicate the seriously disordered psychological relationship between the child and caregiver. During the past 10 years, we have developed the use of covert video surveillance (CVS) and documented the persistent and perverse nature of this life-threatening abuse as it occurs in infants and young children presenting with one particular symptom, namely recurrent apneic or cyanotic episodes, often called apparent life-threatening events (ALTE). We present information here on the clinical features, the accompanying abuse seen during CVS, the psychopathology of the parents, and the extent of abuse in siblings. Our management of this abuse, in close collaboration with social services professionals and the police child protection team, emphasizes the importance of a multiagency collaborative approach to child protection as recommended under the Children Act(1989). It also advocates for new approaches to investigation of patients in whom there was suspicion of induced illness. Outcome. Confirmation of attempted suffocation or other child abuse from CVS. Conclusions. Induced illness is a severe form of abuse that may cause death or permanent neurologic impairment. It may be accompanied by other severe forms of abuse, may result in behavioral disorders, and may be accompanied by immeasurable suffering. Detection of this abuse requires careful history-taking; thorough examination of the health, social, and police. records; and close and focused collaboration between hospital and community child health professionals, child psychiatrists, social workers, and police officers. CVS may help investigate suspicions and ensure that children are protected from additional abuse. When parents have failed to acknowledge that they have deceived health professionals, partnership with them in seeking to protect their children may be neither safe nor effective. Download full paper from here.
|
|
|
|
|
[Home] [NHS Exposed] [Patients] [Health Workers] [NHS in Crisis] [Legal Issues] [Media] [Helpdesk] [Public Views] All copyright remains with original authors unless otherwise stated. |
