CP conference process and false allegations

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Popprfield19
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2022 11:34 pm

CP conference process and false allegations

Post by Popprfield19 » Sun Jul 31, 2022 9:58 am

Long story! In March our ASD child started to experience eating difficulties which caused her great distress and we were eventually accused of emotional abuse despite seeking support and being very let down by CAMHS who turned a 7 day follow up into 7 weeks and daughter refused to believe that we were trying to help her as she felt we were denying her physical pain and making out it was psychiatric. We were also denied the hospital CAMHS report until two months after the CP conference.
Our ASD teen made false allegations about us as parents in order we believe to get into hospital for medical treatment for a whole list of health anxieties - think FII or Munchausens. School (mainstream) had started to fall apart again despite a promising start to 2022 and ADHD meds. The anxieties had been brewing for some time and she was never happy with the medical assurances given by Gp and hospital etc so her methods to get attention became more extreme. Once in hospital she refused to leave once again giving bizarre and untrue explanations around home life which were never supported by siblings or evidence.

On discharge after a week she then took an overdose- non fatal and fairly minor in the scale of things ie treatable and low risk- but obviously frightening and new territory for us- we have no idea where she got the meds as everything had been locked up in the car and we had searched her room etc. Things changed as she claimed parental arguments in the home were the cause for her distress hence a CP was issued and conference held etc. we never got the mental health paperwork submitted to the conference and were told to submit a SAR. The chair even asked them to provide this. But two months on we only get that report at a complaint hearing we took out on the conduct of the conference. At that hearing we are told that CP was solely the chairs decision despite input from others present scaling it and proferring their views not all of him who did - on the basis of emotional harm due to “domestic violence” being witnessed especially the night before her overdose.
There has never been dv at all and on the night in question where she alleged a serious argument I was out at work until late and had a good chat with said daughter before bed and never actually saw my partner (Ive been sharing a room with my younger daughter recently as she fell out with her other sister as regards sharing a room). So it didnt happen. In fact nothing she alleges happened.

The conference chair however said she had made her decision of significant emotional harm based particularly on the allegation around that evening which had been stated in the mental health report which we had never seen until some two months after the conference.

So- there were allegations being circulated in print to professionals which we had actively been prevented from seeing both before the conference and for two months after which we could have confirmed as not true at all but we never had the opportunity even to see these yet were judged on them. Social workers at the conference had laid into us for reasons we could not understand therefore.

We await the decision now as regards the soundness of the conference decision but still feel we want to unpick the process around reports and transparency. There was some reference in the sw report itself but she refused when asked to supply her source and thats when we were given the SAR process. So sws can have access to hospital mental health assessments but parents accused have to apply for a SAR? Is that really correct?

The report also makes bland statements about our child needing to rush to hospital to get attention as clearly not getting attention at home. Thats not true in the least and can be verified.

The sw report itself is full of assumptions and false statements of fact ie lies. Im still working through those.

But ultimately everyone thinks she refused to leave hospital because of things at home hence the CP whereas we see it as her way of getting attention for escalating health anxieties. She walks around still with limbs bandaged up , wears masks constantly, thinks she needs a liver transplant and has been ringing round hospitals, thinks she has all manner of exotic health conditions etc. She pretended to vomit into a bowl but her sister saw her pour juice into the bowl. It didnt look nor smell like vomit. She had an ambulance out when she convinced 111 she had the signs of sepsis but was observed by the paramedics as trying to raise her heart and bp by stamping her foot. She only wants to go to one particular hospital and her
condition resolved itself when she was told they were not accepting ambulances that evening.
She gets angry though when we and the NHS professionals try to reassure her as so convinced its real.
But the attribution of all of this to emotional harm by us is just plain wrong, far too convenient and to her detriment .

There also exists copious evidence of fabrication, health claims (she believes she performed surgery on others) , been kidnapped, speaks 100 languages etc. but no one takes that into account. Much easier to
blame the parents.

We haven’t had much contact from social workers thankfully but are progressing the plans from the CETR. The CP plan does not take into account daughters ASD status. We do not want to not co operate with social services but feel that proceeding along the narrative of emotional harm is wrong, barking up the wrong tree, unproductive and in fact detrimental to all most of all our elder daughter. We cannot embrace that narrative therefore or accept our “guilt” as it isnt true.

We are desperately worried about her and feel all this blame on the home obfiscates a very serious underlying psych illness.

Popprfield19
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2022 11:34 pm

Re: CP conference process and false allegations

Post by Popprfield19 » Sun Jul 31, 2022 10:40 am

As if that post wasn’t long enough- sorry!
Just saying that we are willing to accept positive interventions to improve things in the home (already in the family therapy arranged through the CETR) but that it cant all be a one way street and daughter needs to square up to certain things too (taking into account her ASD and Theory of Mind) as actions create re action and everyone needs to understand the perspective of each other to move forward.

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Suzie, FRG Adviser
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Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:57 pm

Re: CP conference process and false allegations

Post by Suzie, FRG Adviser » Fri Aug 05, 2022 4:13 pm

Dear Popprfield19

Welcome to the parents’ discussion board and thank you for your post. My name is Suzie and I am Family Rights Group’s online adviser. I am sorry to hear of the difficulties you and your family are experiencing.

I can see that you strongly disagree with the reasons a child protection plan was made for your daughter/s and you are going through the complaints process in relation to this. Please see here for further information about how to complain about a child protection conference or the decision made at a conference.

You are also going through the social worker’s report for the conference and highlighting where there are factual errors or a lack of evidence. It is a good idea to do this and to ask that factual errors are amended and that your views or areas of disagreement are recorded too.

In relation to information being shared by other agencies with children’s services prior to the conference, this is what government guidance Working Together to Safeguard children 2018 states : 'all involved practitioners contribute to the information their agency provides ahead of the conference, setting out the nature of the organisation’s or agency’s involvement with the child and family'. However, I can understand your concern that this was only shared with you, despite your request and Subject Access Request application , following your complaint about the child protection conference. Professionals need the Chair’s permission (and in some cases the police’s permission) to share information prior to the conference. If you are unhappy about the mental health service’s practice in this matter you would need to complain to them directly.

The Chair is the final decision maker at a child protection conference but must ensure that they hear from and consider the views of all present including the professionals’ recommendations about whether the threshold for a child protection plan is met.

From the information you provide, I think that you are very worried about your daughter but are very unhappy about the response you, as a family, have received and you feel very much blamed. It is positive that despite this you are willing to cooperate and are finding that some of the interventions in place such as family therapy are helpful. You note that this was already arranged as part of your daughter’s Care Education and Treatment reviews.

I hope you receive a decision on your complaint shortly.

If you are interested in advocacy for your daughters you can find out more here.

You are concerned that the impact of your daughter’s autistic spectrum disorder is not being properly accounted for. You may be well aware of the specialist support services available but you can also look here and here to see if any of these services would be useful too.

If you would like to discuss the situation with an adviser please call our freephone advice line on 0808 8010366 (Monday to Friday, 9.30 am to 3.00 pm) or post again on this forum.

Best wishes

Suzie

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