Accessing son's medical records when he is in foster care

[cousinsincare]

Dear cousinsincare, okay then, glad you've found help.Good luck to you and your cousin.
Tell her to cooperate with the two social workers when she sees them this week and see whether they reciprocate by changing the foster carer. Tell her to ask them (in a pleasant way) if they will reregister her child at his original GP as he can give more reliable opinions as to neglect.

With a bit of luck and a change of heart on their part, they will begin to act more positively now the charity are involved, acknowledge it was out of order to trick her into signing the consent on false pretences and start to carry out bona-fide assessments forthwith. I do hope so. If she lives in the London area,might I suggest she ask the Local Authority concerned if they will agree to fund the FRG advocacy service into her case?

Once again, best of luck!

My cousin can hardly believe it, ange301126. She IS being allowed to attend an appointment with her son and the social worker at the new GP without the foster carer - it is nearly three weeks away as they said it was not an urgent appointment. My cousin is feeling better and the advocacy person is coming back out to see her to arrange to help her. There is no sign of a different placement for her son but it is like 'one step at a time.'

I just spoke to her and she slept better last night than in ages.

Thank you, ange301126.

cousinsincare

What a relief, thank you.

[cousinsincare]

Thank you very much, Suzy. My cousin has so much paperwork and she can hardly understand it all. The advocate lady is coming to see her next week and should be able to understand it better. She knows my cousin has not been able to get a solicitor with legal aid and we think this is one of the things she is going to look into.

My cousin has definitely never been to court about her son - it has always been big meetings with a lot of people and social workers were also always there. Sometimes they have been at Social Work, sometimes at a hall and sometimes at a local school.

She was told if she insists on getting her son home it will be 'logged' in court the same day to stop her and she was advised by the social worker to leave her son in care. She does not think her son is forcibly in care but her hands are tied because she knows if she does not agree it will go to court the same day. I expect this would mean she had no choice because, so far, she has no solicitor. With the advocate's help all this might change because she sounds very knowledgeable - she is from a charity who don't charge anything.

Now that my cousin is being allowed to go with her son to the new GP (with a social worker) she might not be worried about seeing the notes any more because she can talk to the GP directly. This social worker is nothing to do with the previous one who would not allow her to see the new GP.

I'll look at the information you have to referred to and see if I can understand it.

Thank you very much, Suzy.

cousinsincare

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear cousinsincare

I am glad your cousin's situation appears to be moving on with the help of an advocate. Whilst good practice dictates that advocacy support should be offered to parent's subject to a child protection plan, without the presence of mental health, learning disabilities issues, sadly there is no automactic right for this service. It is very much dependent on the Local Authority involved.

Because your cousin In the event that there is no agreement reached between your cousin and Children's Services, and she does in fact request her child is returned home, the Local Authority would need to seek legal advice. If they do decide to issue care proceedings, she would be entitled to public funding (previously legal aid) and could get a solicitor via law society .

In the meantime, I suggest your cousin continues to work with the Local Authority, and she should not remove her child from the placement without speaking to a solicitor first.


Best Wishes


Suzie

[ange301126]

Dear cousinsincare, It is good , as you say, that your cousin is to be granted her inalienable right to attend at the child's GP appointment.

However, it is an opportunity not to be wasted.I can only suggest that she asks the charity lady to accompany her; if she can't, perhaps you can go to offer support.

I suggest the doctor should be informed at the start that your cousin holds sole parental responsibility for her child and that she did not sign INFORMED consent for the change of GP.

Your cousin should also check with the GP if the CS opinion that she neglected the child to any significant extent has a basis in reality. If there is clear medical evidence that the boy is not thriving and there is neglect, your cousin should inform the doctor of all the correct medical history and of which problems only arose after the child went into care. Deteriorations should be established and noted clearly by the GP.

It is essential that who caused any neglect is sorted out. What, if any , medical evidence is there that your cousin neglected her child? Also , if the CS is claiming that he has improved since entering care is it based in medical reality or the department's own ideas?

I am sorry if this all sounds complicated but the CS often make claims to conferences and courts without attempting to establish any scientific proof for what they are saying.
Your cousin has to be prepared for it. The department has already claimed neglect without disclosing evidence .

Remember, these are suggestions only,I am not an expert advisor just a parent like your cousin but I am talking with experience of CS malpractice. Tell your cousin to put these suggestions to the charity lady.

[cousinsincare]

Thanks, Ange. It is a bit like a roller coaster. I'm having to respect my cousin's wishes. She is really feeling down because things are going a bit pear shaped. I don't want to unintentionally upset her and I think she's becoming really depressed.

The GP appointment is not going ahead now and there is another wrangle going on with the foster carer who won't speak to her. My cousin sounded really low and was so tearful. Talking about 'rights' didn't seem appropriate as she was so inconsolable.

The person from advocacy is going to get in touch soon. I feel awful saying this - my niece is so stressed and upset and I wonder, if for her sanity, she should just let them win. I really think she is becoming ill and she did not have depression before. I think she is running out of the will to fight. I don't want to make it worse for her by 'pushing' in any way. Today is the worst I have ever known her. She was so close to things getting better and I don't want her to go under. She does not have strength and the advocate person will be experienced to help. I'm worried in case I make things worse by telling her things when, maybe, it really is too much for her.

You have been brilliant and I can't thank you enough, also Suzie, for all the help.

cousinsincare.

[ange301126]

Dear cousinsincare,Suzie and we parents understand perfectly the problem you face with your cousin.One has to strike a delicate balance . Whilst you don't want to upset and distress her unduly and possibly make her crack up, you also cannot allow her to bury her head in the sand.

As you know her best and you are the intermediary,you have to decide how to handle her emotions.At the same time, a reality check is called for. It would no doubt be easier for her just to give up and let them win but if she did , she would be failing to protect her son.

He is the main person suffering from all this and as his mother with parental responsibility, she has a duty to his paramount interests.The CS have already driven a coach and horses through the boy's human rights in several respects ( the main one being effecting his removal from family without a court order).They have also illicitly changed his GP and even though your cousin (perhaps ill-advisedly) cooperated with the CS by signing the S20, they have already begun to establish the myth that SHE is uncooperative!

Already the child's medical problems have got worse and not only that,he has developed new ones whilst in care.The social workers have been bad,bad ,bad to flout correct procedure generally and changing his GP was exceeding their powers.We might fairly say he has suffered actual bodily harm as a result.

Cousinsincare,the case has been discussed on the forum and another parent has commented that he also was tricked into agreeing to respite care , his families human rights were also abused and the whole rotten situation very nearly led to the death of his son.As I said a few days ago everyone recognises how harmful it is to remove children from their natural families into what is often an uncaring,care system.

Your cousin,I'm afraid , is currently suffering also from the effects of inhumanity and as you have already said so would you if it happened to you.

I definitely agree with Suzie's very clear advice that a family group conference is called for as a matter of URGENCY. Your cousin needs support from the whole family network at this time if things are to move forward .The CS will avoid their responsibility to consider a family placement if they can (they have already)unless they are forced to.

You have already said that the family don't know the seriousness of the situation for the child.He faces a possible life of emotional misery and neglect in care.I am sure they will all rally round and offer all the support they can.I suggest you bring them up to speed with events and call a family conference on your cousin's behalf.If she is your niece,you are older and have a moral right to go over her head and involve them because the problem is too great for her to cope alone.When you have all made a plan,you can then approach the CS in strength,as it were,along with the charity lady..

By the way,on the subject of parental responsibility, why did your cousin cancel the GP appointment which she was so looking forward to attending? Or did the CS cancel it arbitrarily without consulting her thus exceeding their powers again?If they cancelled it, I have to suspect they may have something to hide.Thus when the advocate lady comes this week , I suggest your niece requests an urgent appointment this week for a full body check-up of the child in both her presence and the advocate's.If the child is old enough, he should be quizzed about his health and care without the foster-carer or social worker being in the room,just the GP,your niece and the lady. The child has a right to protection.

[cousinsincare]

Thank you Ange. My cousin isn't feeling well and she's has worrying physical symptoms - blurred vision, dizziness, not sleeping and palpitations. She had to turn back home as she was feeling really sick. I encouraged her to go the doctor and she managed to get an appointment. She has been given beta-blockers to stop the palpitations.

I think she is quite depressed. She is seeing the advocate on Monday. Two social workers came to see her today and she just can't cope with them. She thinks they are trying to set her up. I can't think why but, from what she says, it sounds as if she could be right. She has a supervised contact visit with her son on Saturday.

I've gone a bit quiet because I've been preoccupied. Thank you again for all your helpful input - as well as Suzie's.

cousinsincare

[ange301126]

Dear cousinsincare, By the social worker's actions,your cousin is absolutely right to suspect she is 'being set up'.
Neither I nor anyone else should try and lull her into the belief that her son is party to a 'bona fide' child-protection investigation. Such a process , under the Children's Act , has to be carried out within statutory frameworks I.e. They must be fair and decisions are to be taken on realistic appraisals. I have already already pointed out the procedures haven't been followed and ,by illicitly changing the GP and excluding mum from involvement,they have already taken steps to suggest to us that medical appraisals will be less than realistic.They are most unlikely to have done all this by mistake!

When social workers act unlawfully from the start ( they dishonestly tricked your cousin) ,they CORRUPT the case from the start, the poison spreads and wrong decisions follow as sure as night is day

I understand that you are preoccupied,you have your own life to contend with and it is clear from your descriptions that your cousin is very vulnerable.The social workers will exploit it; in fairness they should not interview her alone if they know she has an advocate.Please don't hold on to any illusions,I suspect you don't have many left and neither does your cousin.
I am advising you the best way I can as an ordinary parent who has been on the receiving end myself and realise that it is tiresome.I know I lay myself open to criticism for possibly alarming you unnecessarily but the CS are the cause of it all.

The priority is the child and both you and your cousin know he is becoming more ill in care.His human rights are being abused and his medical needs neglected because he has been denied access to his real GP and mum's input.

The child needs to be with his natural mother urgently.The CS have not offered her support and are unlikely to,I fear. Thus, as your cousin is ill, organise the family conference yourself or ask the charity lady.

:ow old is the little fellow and what about the other children.Who has care of them?

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear cousinsincare,

It is difficult to give help and advice to your cousin from the side lines but I am sure she is appreciative of your support. Part of a social work assessment of a family is to look at the family support available. So your help should be noted as a positive thing by the social worker.

I gave you a copy of the advice sheet about family group conferences in one of my earlier posts. This is where family and friends can offer support to families and it is then set in a “family plan”.
I agree with Ange that a family group conference can be a good way of harnessing support for your cousin.
However, I have to correct some of the information given by Ange.

When a social worker interviews a parent as part of an assessment, it would be unusual for an advocate or solicitor to be present. Part of the assessment is to find out what support a parent might need to parent their children.
The Advocate’s role is in helping a parents voice is being heard and ensuring that a parent knows her his legal rights and responsibilities.
Also,it doesn’t appear to me from your post, as Ange suggests, that the social workers have acted unlawfully or in a dishonest manner. However, if they have, then your cousin would want to consider one of the ways of making a complaint.

Best wishes,
Suzie

[cousinsincare]

Thank you very much, Suzie.

Things really have taken quite a bad turn and I think my cousin is now actually quite depressed. We (another relative now knows about the problem) are trying to get her to the doctor but she will not go. She says 'they' - Social Services - would definitely put the nail in her coffin if she is depressed. She is not on any tablets apart from the beta blockers for stress symptoms.

She has never been treated for depression at any time before and has not been as low as this. She really thinks she's lost everything and is saying things like she is 'destroyed' and 'they' think I am dirt and I'm a bad mum and hurt my son. She says 'they' have won and they might as well 'finish me off.' She says she feels trapped and we can't admit to her that we really do agree and think she is trapped.

She can't see that if she gets really ill or if anything bad happens it would be even more devastating for her son. In desperation I suggested she should 'phone the Samaritans but she was not interested.

We'll stick with her through this but can't trust Social Services. From what my cousin says some of their remarks about her have been caustic. The next contact visit is next Thursday and we'll try to help her keep her head above water because she always feels better when she sees her son. She is absolutely heart broken.

At present - and I hate to say it - but if Social Services could see her in this state they would definitely not let her see her son. Things have gone so badly. I pleaded with her to 'phone me before going to bed last night and first thing this morning so I could be sure she was all right and was still functioning - and she did, thankfully.

Thank you both for your interest and good information. If there is silence it is because I'm preoccupied and help as much as possible and not because I've given up.

cousinsincare