Failure of Services for Khyra Ishaq - Essay Example

With Reference To the Serious Case Review, Critically Evaluate the Failure of Services In The Case Of Khyra Ishaq Table of Contents Introduction 3 Failure of Services 3 Domestic Mistreatment & Violence 4 Failure of Early Intervention 4 Lack of Education 6 Poverty and Ineffectiveness of Public Services 7 Lack of Parental Support 8 Lack of Child Opinion 10 Lessons Learnt 11 Recommendations 12 Conclusion 14 References 15 Bibliography 20 Introduction In the year 2008, Khyra Ishaq, a resident of Handsworth, Birmingham, United Kingdom died due to several irregular incidents. She was neglected by her mother and also by her partner i.e. stepfather (Birmingham Mail, 2010). It had been reported that she was suffering for malnutrition and her death occurred due to inappropriate management of different agencies. It was also believed that better evaluation of health condition and effective communication could have prevented her death. In today’s 21st century, this kind of death cannot be imagined. This case has gained significant attention from media and several agencies (BBC, 2010). This report is based on making an assessment of failure of services in the case of Khyra Ishaq. The objective of the report is to highlight missed opportunities which could have resulted in better outcome and might have helped to save the life of Khyra Ishaq. Failure of Services The death of Khyra Ishaq was primarily suspected to be due to the failures of local services. The doctors across different activities were not in complete control of every fact as communication was hindered, misplaced or merely not commenced seriously. Any kind of significant decisions depend on individual services. In decision making, information sharing is a significant aspect and can determine the effectiveness of service provision. A significant number of neglected incidents related to the involvement by professionals have been observed in the death case of Khyra Ishaq (Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2012). The reason for such negligence was due to failure of proper administration to reach to the right divisions, failure to follow protection procedure and failure to undertake systematic evaluations to case closure, resulting in poor knowledge and information about the condition of Khyra Ishaq (Devon County Council, 2008). Domestic Mistreatment & Violence Domestic mistreatment is one of the vital aspects found in the death case of Khyra Ishaq. It was estimated that in 2010, about 200,000 children living in the households of the UK were characterised by high level of domestic mistreatment and violence (Radford, 2010). These issues were prevalent in the case of Khyra Ishaq. Reviewing the case of Khyra Ishaq reveals the fact that information regarding domestic mistreatment and violence was not understood or shared by respective social agencies. The evaluation of condition of Khyra Ishaq was not satisfactorily rigour and strict. Family and environmental issues and child-rearing capability components had received slight or limited regard from every department of education and healthcare (Cleaver & et. al., 2011). The major problem which has been identified in the case of Khyra Ishaq was maltreatment. Child maltreatment can occur not only because of poverty, but also because of other forms of mistreatment such as negligence or physical mishandling which was apparent in death case of Khyra Ishaq. The outcome was obvious i.e. poor health (NSPCC, 2008). At the time of death, it can be observed that the ‘Body Mass Index’ of Khyra Ishaq was 10.7 kilogram/m2 which was quite low than average body mass index at 18 to 24 kilogram/m2 (Radford, 2010). Failure of Early Intervention A significant number of professional actions was neglected which was one related aspect in recognising families that struggle to fulfil the healthcare requirements of children (Gardner, 2008). Negligence of professionals of different agencies to provide educational and healthcare support had prevented early intervention to Khyra Ishaq’s condition. Early intervention can allow children to obtain the social and the emotional foundations on which life quality depends. A child who is rounded, talented and outgoing has a great chance in life. Children without having these aspects can have a depraved start in life and throughout their lifetime they can levy heavy penalties on themselves (Allen, 2011). Early Intervention is essential for wellbeing of any children. With respect to the death case of Khyra Ishaq, early intervention by professionals could have saved the life of the child. Early intervention can change the life of children and family, particularly for those who are at most deprived position. It is evident that good childcare is a key aspect for successful development of a child, but parental support is also crucial for wellbeing of children (Gross, 2008). Due to lack of intervention, Khyra Ishaq had faced problems which could have been preventable and which impaired her life. The success of intervention depends on the emphasis provided by different agencies. There must be clarity of objectives and a determination to make development. Commissions provide a vigorous, reliable and impartial method of making decisions regarding the utilisation of public resources so that they can have positive impacts on the lives of children. Effective intervention begins with planned understanding of how the entire educational system performs and how the entire resources are being consumed. There is also requirement for different agencies to work cooperatively in order to fulfil the requirements of children and families. In case of Khyra Ishaq, early intervention was not undertaken due to a lack of multidisciplinary team work and poor framework of organisational system (C4EO, n.d.). Presently, the level of early intervention in the UK is low. At the local level, fulfilling the complex requirements of children generates significant expenses. In several circumstances, the intervention is not tackled with targeted or precautionary activities. Irrespective of increasing concerns about child healthcare in the UK, early intervention and prevention has not occurred in an effective manner. Indeed, ‘Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’ (OECD) has recently conveyed that the UK’s expenditure profile was not in proportion to the principles and indications on child well-being. In contrast, it can be observed that government put more focus on expenditure on late childhood. Spending on early childhood more probably might generate positive influence on heath than spending on late childhood. Early intervention can enable children to obtain the social and sensitive foundations on which their wellbeing can depend (Allen, 2011). Lack of Education Furthermore, lack of education is also found while reviewing the death case of Khyra Ishaq. Khyra Ishaq was found to be isolated from getting public education during the year 2007. At no point, she was provided the right to choose the location, type of educational support or any other rights to express her opinions. There were no liberated access to friends, relatives and other professional organisations. In other words, Khyra Ishaq was not only deprived from education, but also was also isolated from social activities (Radford, 2010). In England, education is essential but school is not essential. The legislation which enabled parents’ action is confined in Section 7 of Education Act of 1996 which is supported by extra supervision in ‘Elective Home Education Guidelines’ for local agencies (Radford, 2010). The regulatory framework contributed to the unintentional consequence of isolating children in home environment and limiting access to those children by professional agencies, efficiently eliminating any inaccuracy of their wellbeing or healthcare. In the contemporary legislation, the evaluation requirements for home education is poor and there is no directive to observe, assess or review the quality of home education facility, once authorisation to home education is ensued. Accordingly, there is no actual method to guarantee that home education remains appropriate, and secure without clear agreement and active involvement of parents or guardians (Lees, 2010). The above aspects highlight major flaws in the education regulation which concentrates on parental choice and rights at the cost of children’s rights, requirements, wellbeing and safety. Safety and wellbeing of children are everyone’s duty from parents to different agencies. Constitutional responsibility with respect to safety and wellbeing of children rests with state and regional government and their corresponding divisions. In numerous states or counties of the UK, child protection is considered as a comprehensive portfolio of family, community services and human services (Allen, 2011). Child protection is based on identifying children and young people who have been abused and are at risk of being abused and where needed, preventing further abuse by taking actions to secure their protection (Child and Family Welfare Association of Australia Inc., 2007). Different governmental divisions of the UK had failed to recognise the abuse faced by Khyra Ishaq and were also unsuccessful to prevent her death (Allen, 2011). Poverty and Ineffectiveness of Public Services It is apparent that quality of life of a child is dependent on quality of public services accessible to him/her. It is particularly true for poor children such as Khyra Ishaq, because they tend to have higher requirements of public services (for instance, Khyra Ishaq who was from poor household experienced ill health and therefore was in high requirement for health services). Lack of flexible high quality childcare can prevent these children to suffer from being deprived from taking part in social activities and can leave them isolated. From the case of Khyra Ishaq, it can be observed that poverty and inefficiency of public services have resulted in significant suffering and isolation from social activities which had impacted on her physical and psychological health. There is a significant relationship between childcare and poverty. Poor childcare exists owing to reason of improper income distribution. Lessening in terms of income and falling of mental health result in decrease in childrearing capability. According to a study of Reed, from 2003 to 2008, a number of families in the UK where children were vulnerable were estimated to be almost 160,000 in 2003, which reduced to about 130,000 in 2008. The number children who were living in such families were almost 310,000 in 2008. This figure significantly reveals the actual density of the problem related to children. Despite marginal actions being taken, the number of vulnerable children and families were quite higher in the UK (Reed, 2012). Lack of Parental Support Parents play a vital part in ensuring the safety of a child. The development of health of a child is influenced by the attachment to the parents. Several studies have observed that where children are often neglected, their cortisol level are amplified which can result in permanent increase in strain hormones. This aspect ultimately impacts on the mental health of children. Thus, supporting the parents is crucial for improving the health outcomes of children. Lack of parental support is apparent in the death case of Khyra Ishaq. From the review, it can be observed that the mother of Khyra Ishaq resisted medical appointment and had not provided authorisation for proper dietician recommendations to enable complete assessment of weight loss of Khyra Ishaq. Access to health services is a significant aspect for young people to evaluate their health and wellbeing individually (Bracknell Forest Council, 2011). The denial of parental approval on this aspect must comprise a procedure of follow up in order to establish existence of precautionary concerns. Several professionals in the case of Khyra Ishaq seemed to be ignorant about their duties to communicate about safeguarding concerns which ascended as a part of their collaboration with Khyra Ishaq and her family. It was imperious that every professional employee comprehends the expectation to share serious professional concerns directly to the family of any suspected child which was missing in the case of Khyra Ishaq (Field, 2010). Lack of Communication From the evaluation of death case of Kyra Ishaq, it can be observed that there was a lack of communication between social workers and ‘Children’s Social Care’. The word of social workers regarding Khyra Ishaq was not heard correctly. The critical concerns were inaccurately recorded and initially the concentration was not provided on the behaviour of parents of Khyra Ishaq. Furthermore, it can be observed that the preliminary evaluation was uncompleted and hence the ‘Children Social Care’ failed to precisely assess the risks posed to Khyra Ishaq (Radford, 2010). A sequence of aspects such as parental resistance to professional intervention, lack of conversations with children and lack of comprehensive understanding of parents about home education legislation had influenced and impacted on professional activities and prohibited a complete understanding of circumstances of Khyra Ishaq. Her parents had restricted the access of different public services. It had also been observed that ‘Education Otherwise’ (EO) did not completely fulfil its responsibilities. EO provides advices, supports and assessments to parents who select to educate their children at home (City of Westminster, 2009). However, there was a lack of strong and serious procedure by EO for evaluating the capability of parents to provide effective home education and healthcare support. Furthermore, there were no risk assessment tools which can effectively address safeguarding concerns of children. The professionals also did not possess the requisite abilities to carry out the safeguarding tasks. Furthermore, it was also apparent that other governmental agencies were highly dependent on the outcome of EO (Radford, 2010). Information about child safety actions were acknowledged to several organisations, but were not recognised and shared and subsequently delayed. The information about assumed domestic abuse of Khyra Ishaq within the household did not reach the school in adequate time. This kind of sensitive information could have warned the school and other agencies and it might have prompted for different interventions or tactics to prevent the death of Khyra Ishaq. A low level of contact has been observed in the case of Khyra Ishaq. The medical workers were unable to address the concerns about Khyra Ishaq who was obsessed with food. The records about fluctuations in weight of Khyra Ishaq were not intrigued completely. Besides, the resistance of parents were not taken seriously by medical workers for professional curiosity (Radford, 2010). Lack of Child Opinion There was also a lack of approved occasions for children to demonstrate their opinions or to dynamically involve in the evaluation of education provision or decision making process of parents with respect to home education. Given the awful consequence recognised in the case review of Khyra Ishaq, poor human rights legislation and supervision was identified as a significant protection fault of regulation where Khyra Ishaq was unable to exercise her rights to receive proper education and health services (Radford, 2010). Lessons Learnt Two key lessons were found from the review of death report of Khyra Ishaq which can create a significant challenge for practitioners and agencies to work with children and their families. One lesson is children who experience negligence and the other one is children who grow up in condition of domestic violence face significant vulnerability. Negligence in this context is considered as obstinate failure to fulfil a child’s basic requirements which can probably lead to serious consequences to a child’s health and development. Parents are often faced by several problems such as psychological illness, learning incapacity, violent relationship and lack of money to support accommodation, food and other basic requirements among others which can result in negligence of their children. Another issue which emerge in this circumstance of negligence in front of practitioners is conversation with children. It can be observed that professionals are used to talking only with the parents in order to gather information about the condition of a child. There are quite instances when children are questioned about their conditions. This results in insufficient information and unsatisfactory services. National guidance states that as a part of initial assessment of a child’s requirements, the process must include making observation of a child as well as talking to the child suitably (CiaranMcHale, 2009). Observation of children about their activities and actions is evidently an activity which is vital for all those who have professional bond with children and families. Speaking with children especially in sensitive circumstances is an additional step which necessitates simplicity about roles and responsibilities as well as decisions regarding appropriateness of such activity. These aspects were missing in the case of Khyra Ishaq who was neglected by her family and was not properly evaluated by professionals (Rose & Barnes, 2003). In the UK, there were no legal instruments to ensure that an acceptable education is provided to children or wellbeing of children is properly secured. This situation was particularly beneficial for parents of Khyra Ishaq who wished to obscure misuse of their responsibilities. It would be helpful for legislation if it balances the rights of parents to educate their children with the responsibilities of several local authorities to protect the children and their rights. These findings conclude that if there had been better evaluation and more effective interactions between different local organisations then it could have prevented the death of Khyra Ishaq. The death of any child is always a challenging and poignant experience for any nation. When a child has continuously suffered long punitive cruelty and malnourishment by adults, failing to adhere to the duty of local agencies to provide medical interference then it can be dangerous and can cause life risk (Schlesinger & et. al., 2010). Recommendations In order to ensure safety of children, government must undertake a review of the educational and healthcare system. The ‘Department of Health’ must ensure that health experts in several public services identify and react appropriately to domestic violence (NSPCC, 2011). The educational system must be child oriented and every division that involve in child protection must identify children who are at risk (Munro, 2011). It is the duty of the family to enhance the wellbeing of children and they are the one to take decisions about betterment of children, but at times it becomes necessary to balance the rights of children with the duties of a family, i.e. at times the children must be provided the opportunity to express their opinions. It can help them to be protected from extreme negligence and abuse which happened in the case of Khyra Ishaq. There is an old saying that “prevention is better than cure”, thus early intervention is requisite for children than late intervention, because it can help to reduce the period of adverse experiences faced by children and improve their health condition (Statham & Smith, 2010). ‘Department of Education’ and local organisations must ensure that they can effectively identify, reach and provide assistance to the most disadvantaged families. It requires local organisations to execute investigations about life probabilities of children so that they can identify the poor families and support them on time (Field, 2010). A good learning environment and positive parenting activities can augment the survival chances of children. Several statistics reveal that poor children methodically do worse on both reasoning and social outcomes. Children with poor family tend to be less ready for education and less ready to take the benefits of resources to be capitalised for educational purposes. Thus, investment in children and families before investment in education can provide adequate results in education and child health. Conclusion A review of the above case depicts that the death of Khyra Ishaq was a misfortune event which had occurred due to ineffective legislation. Khyra Ishaq was isolated from state education and was not provided the opportunity to express her opinions. The legislation had failed to recognise the deteriorating health condition of Khyra Ishaq. Her parents also failed to provide appropriate education and health facilities which resulted in worsening of health condition of Khyra Ishaq and ultimately led to her death. Besides, effective communication and information sharing were also missing between different governmental departments which either led to delay in taking proper measures or led to ignorance about the health condition of Khyra Ishaq. 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