Report seeks to learn lessons from Declan Hainey’s death

A REPORT into the death of a toddler who was killed by his drug-addict mother has made a series of recommendations for improving child protection across Scotland.

Kimberley Hainey, 37, was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 15 years at the High Court in Glasgow last month after being found guilty of murdering her son, Declan, in her flat in Paisley and concealing his body.

Hainey was also convicted of failing to report Declan’s death to police or other authorities and of concealing his body at the flat.

The child’s body was discovered on 30 March 2010 when he would have been 23 months old. Experts said he had been dead for several months.

Yesterday, an independent report into the toddler’s death made 16 recommendations for improvements to be made within Renfrewshire Council and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Renfrewshire Council said some of the report’s recommendations had “national ramifications”, which are the subject of discussions between the local authority, the Scottish Government and the Care Inspectorate.

The report was commissioned by Tim Huntingford, the independent chairman of the Renfrewshire child protection committee, jointly with Renfrewshire Council and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

It had been completed in 2010, but has only now been made public following the completion of the police investigation and trial.

Mr Huntingford said: “The outcome of the trial squarely placed the responsibility for Declan’s tragic death on his mother. Despite this, there were undoubtedly things that could and should have been done differently.

“Since we do not know, and will never know, when or how Declan died, we can’t say that if things had been done differently Declan would still be alive. However, we fully accept the recommendations in this report.

“In the light of this report, significant changes have been made to strengthen systems in place to protect the most vulnerable members of our community.”

The investigation into Declan’s death made 16 recommendations, some of which the council said have already been implemented.

The most significant of the recommendations is to ensure that excuses for missed appointments are not allowed to develop into a pattern of concealment which prevents child protection professionals from seeing a vulnerable child.

It was also stated by the review that there should be an initial child protection case conference arranged in all cases of children being born to drug-using parents, which a health visitor should attend.

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said the case had highlighted “systematic failures in child protection” beyond Renfrewshire.

She said: “Declan Hainey was not the first child to be let down by the system, and unless we act I fear he will not be the last.

“This report is an admission that we have systematic failures in child protection and to pretend that these are issues limited only to one part of Scotland would not only be naive but grossly complacent.

“I am calling for Alex Salmond to order an independent, wide-ranging inquiry into how Scotland’s most vulnerable children are protected and how those efforts are being affected by the budget choices the Scottish Government is making.”

Matt Forde, head of NSPCC Scotland, said: “Perhaps the most significant point raised in this review is the critical importance for all services involved with a vulnerable child working together to put that child’s needs and wellbeing above all else.

“It is absolutely crucial that our services recognise situations where children, particularly babies, are living with a parent who is struggling with substance or alcohol misuse.”