And...another negative story emerges...

Somerset County Council at Rock Bottom

Quite clearly things are not getting any better in Somerset.  Now the staff at Somerset County Council are making clear all is not well, "morale at a low" and senior managers heavily criticised too it would appear. 

This comes as no surprise, however many of those staff are just as guilty, they act without morals, they lie, they deceive and so many examples of Misconduct in Public Office have been collected that there can only be one outcome, a full public enquiry with a through police investigation of any allegations of Misconduct.

We need whistle-blowers to come forward to expose this corrupt Local Authority...contact us at ed-ectopia@live.ie

The Empire is Crumbling

It has been a while since this blog was updated, that is with very good reason. Much has been going on, behind the scenes in the fight against Somerset County Council's Children's Services and their associated partners in child snatching. Since the last article parents across Somerset affected by the illegal, immoral and blatant harassment actions of Somerset County Council's Social Workers have begun to band together in solidarity against the injustices being inflicted upon them.

Parents' are being given the tools to question, challenge and fight the liars at County Hall and their satellite offices. Their wrong-doings will be exposed and subjected to the full force of the law. Private prosecutions, Judicial Reviews, accountability for Vicarious Liability for their actions from the Social Workers, their Managers, Directors, Councillors and Executives will see no stone unturned in bringing their wrong doing to Justice.

If you are affected you can join this movement and gain strength and support from others aggrieved by these unlawfully acting individuals. Local MP's, MEP's and even Councillors are coming on board. The press is being made aware, with television, film companies, national media reporters all showing an increasing interest, and many now prepared to expose and report.

There is a Group Action being prepared, locally and Nationally and with both European and General elections fast approaching those who wish to procure our support must be prepared to stand on the right side of Justice. This movement is not a “flash in the pan”, it is well organised, well supported and has this support not just from parents, but across a broad spectrum of society and professional occupations. The death knell of the current myth of “child protection” has been sounded and YOU and YOUR story can be part of it. Join the Facebook group Somerset Parents Against Social Services or United P.A.S.S. (also on Facebook) and join the revolution.

I told you that something was rotten in the County of Somerset

 Seems that things go from bad to worse for Somerset County Council. Not content with with serious concerns being raised about the death of a child in care, we now have serious failures reported by the Local Government Ombudsman regarding the social care of an adult.  On top of a seriously inadequate Ofsted Inspection of Children's Social Care and a remarkable number of complaints against them either logged and ignored or pending, it seems that a cover-up is emerging regarding the "mutual" parting of ways of the Chief Executive, Sheila Wheeler and Somerset County Council.

What was originally dismissed as a storm in a tea -cup, it looks like serious issues and complaints lead to this parting (at a considerable expense to the tax payers of Somerset)  and an "acting up" Deputy CEO now fulfilling the role of CEO, which adds insult to injury to the people of Somerset. This "acting" lead officer has never undergone a real appointment process (so we are largely talking a sinecure here) and owes his position to.....??? Well, I guess we shall see, but one thing is for certain, there is no care or loyalty to the people of Somerset, only to those to whom he owes his position.

Democracy...don't make me laugh.  We have County Councillors who deliberately ignore the cases of their constituents, private prosecutions pending against County Council officials, evidence of misconduct in public office and the High Court admonishing the Council's Children's Care legal team in a care appeal.

We do not have to put up with this, we should not let corruption, law -breaking and secret deals that not even the councillors are allowed to know fully about continue.  It's time for a clean up and a clear out at Somerset County Council.

Somerset authorities urged to review training following man’s death

Date Published: 18/02/14

A report by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) and Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO) has found two Somerset authorities should have done more to safeguard a vulnerable man’s health.
The 38-year-old, who had complex physical health needs as well as some mental health problems, was well-known to both Somerset County Council and Somerset Partnership NHS Trust, and received regular visits throughout the day from a variety of nurses, social workers and carers.
The man’s mother, who brought the complaint to the ombudsmen, often took on the responsibility of caring for her son and had regular contact with the authorities in an attempt to improve the services he received. His fluctuating and deteriorating health needs meant that on some days he was able to administer his own medication, while on others – when he was in severe pain and had “maximised his opiate use”, he needed significant help.

The investigation found there was a general lack of co-ordination of his care, and nobody took responsibility for monitoring and administering the many drugs the man needed. The man died of an overdose in July 2009.

It also uncovered that the county council and trust failed to implement their joint policy on the administration of medicines. Staff were unaware of the policy’s existence, and the document only came to light following the ombudsmen’s investigation.

Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman, said:

“Although I cannot say that these failures caused the man’s death, I can say they may have contributed to it. The picture I have seen is one of a gradual decline in the man’s health with no effective intervention to prevent it.

“While you cannot put a price on the loss of a loved one, I have recommended a financial payment to the man’s family in recognition of the stress and strain this situation must have placed them under."

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor said:

“This tragic case highlights the importance of joined up care. It is crucial that the NHS and local authorities communicate with each other to ensure patients’ needs are met.

“One missed opportunity by staff can lead to tragic consequences. Staff need to feel empowered to intervene and alert others when they have concerns about a patient.

“The trust failed this young man and it needs to ensure that its staff are appropriately trained in caring for vulnerable people, so that other patients receive the high quality care they deserve.”

To remedy the situation, the county council and the trust should acknowledge the failures identified in the report and apologise to the complainant. The two authorities should jointly make a payment of £2,000 to the man’s mother in recognition of the distress and time and trouble taken to pursue the complaint, and if necessary, fund bereavement counselling up to the value of £500.

The trust should review the way in which it ensures knowledge of joint policies and provides training for frontline staff, and review its district nursing teams’ compliance with multi-agency safeguarding procedures. The ombudsmen welcome the start the trust has made on this review.

The county council should refund the son’s estate any charges which were made for the care package, and review its policy about liaison with appropriate internal and external agencies where housing need has been identified.

 

A Vigil For Jonas

On Monday 3rd February 2014 a small group gathered with Jonas Stadden’s Mum and Dad outside Somerset County Council’s County hall building. For 4 hours they stood, small candles burning in a vigil for Jonas, whose life was mercilessly cut short whilst in the “care” of Somerset Social Services. This poor little boy was the victim of a system that actually cares little for real child protection and more about profits and targets. Jonas was clearly seriously ill 4 days prior to his death, so much so that his father, at the contact session raised his concerns and asked that Jonas be taken to a Doctor without delay, a request that the Contact Centre Supervisor completely agreed with.
Yet Jonas wasn’t taken to a doctor, the foster parents failed to listen to those who knew best – Jonas parents- and that decision was to cost this poor little boy his life. No trace of any record, or any written confirmation of a visit to a Doctor or Hospital has been provided by Somerset County Council.
Through the pouring rain on that Monday afternoon Jonas was remembered, starkly, outside the very building that houses the so called “professionals” that were acting as God and thought they could “protect” Jonas better than his parents. Memories, photographs and what they carry in their hearts is all that his parents now have. This should not have happened.
The vigil drew interest from the local BBC Radio station and the local paper sent along a reporter and photographer. It is hoped that some of the truths of this tragic event may be reported more accurately by the local media, rather than the Somerset County Councils “cover-up” messages being spun out to them.
Investigations, legal actions or whatever is pursued by the family and their supporters will never bring Jonas back, no amount of “we have learnt lessons” rhetoric from the Somerset Child protection quangos can undo the damage they have inflicted, However, this is one case that is not going to be brushed aside, Jonas will have Justice.

 See the Family Justice website here

Concerns grow over SCC's claims over the death of Jonas Stadden

Below is the Statement issued by Ups and Downs Southwest a charity that supports children and young people with downs syndrome and who had worked supporting Jonas and his family since his birth.

Charities do not issue statements like the one below against County Councils (who usually work in conjunction and support such charities) unless they have serious concerns and quite clearly in this case they do.  Over recent days there has been a lot of statements coming out from SCC officials regarding Jonas Stadden's case and we shall be looking closely at these in the coming days.  For now we provide the Statement placed on Ups and Downs website.  Please read carefully and consider just what is going on at Somerset County Council.

Ups and Downs Southwest

Statement issued in response to the articles in the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph on Jan 19^th 2014

Re the death of Jonas Stadden while in care

Ups and Downs Southwest is a charity supporting children and young people with DS and all those involved in their care and education. The organisation was founded on a mother’s desire to provide support and information to other parents from the point of diagnosis onwards. We now support hundreds of parents and families as well as providing information and guidance to professionals across the region.

We have been involved with Jonas and his family since his birth and have done our best to support his parents throughout the emotional turmoil and devastating events they have experienced over the last several months.

We are extremely concerned that the article in the Daily Telegraph refers to a ‘source’ from Somerset County Council saying that “But children with Down Syndrome do die prematurely”. We seek to immediately dispel the implication of this incredibly inappropriate and erroneous remark by setting the record straight for those less informed, and to reassure parents, that children with DS are not vulnerable to ‘dying for no apparent reason’ but like any other child, would only die prematurely if there was a clear medical issue and reason which could be identified. At the time of his death, Clinicians were unaware of any underlying medical issues or problems which would in any way account for his sudden death – and we wish to make that point absolutely clear.

We have been left deeply distressed by the untimely loss of this delightful little boy, and can’t even begin to imagine the pain experienced by his parents who adored him.

Wendy O’Carroll

Founder and CEO

UPS and Downs Southwest

Somerset County Council child protection plans "inadequate"

It doesn't get any better at Somerset

A recent report on Somerset County Council's Children's Services once again shows the failings of leadership, professionalism and I would say above all transparency.

These failures are endemic and the reason they are is because the whole system is an abuse of its purported role.  For too long the system has been focused not child protection but profits - profits from stealing, trafficking and effectively selling children.  The foster care and adoption industry in this country is a multi-million pound business, firms like Core Assets and now even G4S - remember them - what a caring bunch they are- muscling in on he act.  G4S Childrens Home

Hence Social Workers aren't really interested in child protection, but meeting targets, targets driven to create profits.  Innocent families are being attacked by this system with Social Workers lying, fabricating and even perjuring themselves to remove perfectly secure, safe and happy children from loving homes.  No wonder the child protection plans are inadequate, it's difficult to put in place concrete actions that demonstrate real child protection when there is nothing but the social workers lies to safeguard from.  Of course they are ably abetted in their fraud by the Courts, Police, "expert witnesses" (who are often not an expert in anything other than making money from other peoples misery) and the Social work managers, Directors, Chief Executives and ultimately Councillors.  Yes the people who come knocking on your door once every 4 years asking for your vote.  They aren't there to represent you, otherwise they would not become complicit in this fraud.

I am not saying that there are not cases of real children needing protection, but these are so few when compared to the numbers of families subjected to unwarranted interventions created spuriously by the inhumane robots at your local children's services.

Often those affected seek help and advice from a Solicitor, but as a recent FOI request on "What do they know" demonstrated that many firms families turn to have a serious conflict of interest.  The firms listed on this request undertake work for the Local Authority, hardly likely to fight for any parents and lose the hand that feeds them by taking on the Local Authority with any serious effort, afterall they get the legal aid should parents win or lose.

Time to start asking questions of your councillors, council executives, MP, etc etc.

If you have a story to tell, want to help expose and bring this corruption to an end, fight for justice please

Contact us at ed-ectopia@live.ie