Declan Hainey: death may have been avoided

　

 

"A fatal accident inquiry has found the death of toddler Declan Hainey may have been avoided if care agencies properly supervised his drug addict mother. Kimberley Hainey was jailed in 2012 for her son's murder but her conviction was later quashed on appeal."

"The inquiry found parental neglect was a factor in his death along with failures among social care teams...[Sheriff Anderson] said it was known that Hainey had failed to prepare for Declan's birth, had a "chaotic drug history" and was drinking heavily "while on a methadone programme".

"The sheriff said: "Had reasonable professional judgment been exercised, then child protection measures would have been taken."
She added: "The risks to Declan were never analysed properly."

"Sheriff Anderson noted that "important decisions were taken when no records were available, and no notes or minutes kept". She said that "when decision were taken, it was often not easy to understand the basis on which they were taken".

The sheriff said: "Gillian Turner claimed on the third day of her evidence, having been questioned on the issue of note-taking that she had kept notes of this case and others in a personal notebook, which she later shredded after she left Family Matters.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-29076446