mooandboo Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 The last line made I still take a small gift and card to the new Mum and her baby. My neighbours did bring me cards and presents once they realised Kathy, which really touched me and were very much appreciated as I'm sure yours are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kats inc Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 *Sigh* Only today I have had a blazing row with a social worker.A mum is not happy about me challenging her about something that is quite frankly very very worrying.Social worker belittles my concerns as they are only 'health' concerns and not real ones ( ) Tells Mum she can change health visitors if she's unhappy. Beverley Allitt had 'health' problems.It led to her killing 4 children and seriously harming 9 others.Munchausen's by Proxy or Fabricated Illness as it is now called is a well recognised and documented problem but it appears NOT by social workers or at least not being taken seriously by social workers. This is why things go wrong and why I want to bang my head repeatedly against a very large brick wall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 *Sigh* Only today I have had a blazing row with a social worker.A mum is not happy about me challenging her about something that is quite frankly very very worrying.Social worker belittles my concerns as they are only 'health' concerns and not real ones ( ) Tells Mum she can change health visitors if she's unhappy. Beverley Allitt had 'health' problems.It led to her killing 4 children and seriously harming 9 others.Munchausen's by Proxy or Fabricated Illness as it is now called is a well recognised and documented problem but it appears NOT by social workers or at least not being taken seriously by social workers. This is why things go wrong and why I want to bang my head repeatedly against a very large brick wall Obviously I realise you cant go into details but I can't really understand how / why 'health' problems can be dismissed - I'd have thought that such a condition was potentially a very serious issue. I assume that whilst she could elect to change health visitor you could also talk to a different social worker if you are concerned / unhappy ? IE whilst I'm not a health visitor I think if I were you I'd put my concerns in writing to both your bosses and hers. I presume if she did choose to go with another health visitor those concerns would then be on file & drawn to their notice & that her bosses would have to evaluate her assessment of the situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kats inc Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 She won't get a different health visitor and I've explained to the social worker exactly why not.If we chopped and changed HV every time we pizzed a family off we'd be constantly changing around and change of profesionals is another high risk danger point identified by serious case reviews so it's a no no.Sadly (or perhaps not in this case) the social worker will be closing the case soon and we will go to that new systen ISA and there will be a lead professional take over her case and I'll give you 3 guesses as to who that will more than likely be?! Yep good ole me,won't she be pleased Munchausen's is a really difficult one to get any one to take seriously,it's the 2nd case I've worked on where we've struggled.I put everything in writing now as it does you well to cover your arse at all times in our job these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathyw Posted June 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 Your post rang a loud bell with me Kats as I have a friend who I was always convinced had Munchausans by proxy. She herself had been ill throughout her childhood and was an only child who lived with her nana as both parents worked. She lived in the same street as me yet I never really knew her until she came back to live at home when we were starting secondary school. When her own mother was in hospital following strokes, this girl went to the hospital at 9.30 and came home at 10.30pm, her baby was 6 weeks old when her Mum went into hospital and three months when her Mum came out. I looked after the baby all day. She did everything for her Mum and 'knew' hospital lingo whereas she didn't have a wide vocabulary with normal english. We became close friends many years later and Ray and I were Godparents to both her children. The children were always at the doctors and always on anti-biotics. Hospital visits were regular, not for the normal bumps and scrapes - just because she 'knew something was wrong'. It never was. She could tell you every nurse/doctors name and in case of doctors pronounce the fields they specialised in, a feat always beyond me. She glowed when a new nurse would say what a devoted mother/daughter she was. Yet she missed the fact that the eldest boy couldn't hear properly and when Ray (who knows nothing about kids) said he thought the child couldn't hear, she told him off and said what did he know. Later it was found he had glue ear and it was sorted immediately, she went private as she didn't want to wait in case it damage his hearing further. She is a good mum but the constant anti-biotics when they were so small always worried me. I know Munchausans by proxy can be far, far worse, the case I said about before, the american mum who killed all her children was a known sufferer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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