Review Finds Murder of Baby Callum Wilson Could Have Been Prevented

A review into the death of an 11-month old boy in Berkshire, England, revealed that his life could have been saved had health and social workers been more alert to signs of child abuse. Callum Wilson suffered from broken bones, a detached retina and a head injury which ultimately killed him after being violently attacked by his mother Emma Wilson.

Callum died in March 2011 but the review revealed that Emma continued to attack him months before his deaths but GPs, health workers and social workers did not pick on the signs of abuse and believed the ‘convincing explanations’ given by the mother that the scratches and bruises were caused by his 23-month-old brother.

The agencies involved in the case have released a joint statement, which said that they have made changes to their policies on reporting bruising in very young children and a new policy on concealed pregnancies. “In the years since Callum's death we have continued to strengthen our procedures beyond the recommendations of the report as we work in partnership to protect children. We can never guarantee the total safely of every child who comes into our care or seeks our help. However, we can work to ensure that, as far as possible, the mistakes made in Callum's case will not be repeated and that staff are given all the necessary support, training and guidance to enable them to deliver the service that every child deserves”, the statement read.



Source-Medindia