Surrey safeguarding: Missed opportunities to help lockdown baby, says report

A safeguarding review has found there were missed opportunities to help the family of a "loved and happy" five-month-old boy who died in his bouncer.

Baby Acer, who was born during a Covid lockdown, died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy in Surrey in 2021.

The review said an unwise decision was made to close the case in March 2020, and there could have been a pre-birth risk assessment in April 2020.

Surrey County Council said changes would be made and lessons learned.

Social services had been involved with the family since 2006, but after Acer died, his four siblings were removed from the mother's care.

Lead reviewer Moira Murray said: "That Acer was a loved and happy child was evident from the way mother and father spoke about him and from the many photographs on display."

But her report said Acer was a twin baby born prematurely during lockdown and not able to receive the same monitoring.

It said Acer returned to a cramped, overcrowded home where both parents smoked.

The mother took prescribed medication and co-slept with her babies, and because the father had been arrested, she had to care alone for five children.

Ms Murray said it was an unwise decision to close the case, adding: "There would have been the opportunity to continue to monitor the children and risk-assess mother's behaviour."

She said when a pre-birth risk assessment did not materialise, this was also "a missed opportunity."

Her report said the mother felt Acer's death was due to the bouncer. It noted some models had been withdrawn, but said the make and model could not be confirmed.

Recommendations for Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership included more support for practitioners tackling unsafe sleeping arrangements.

Surrey County Councillor Sinead Mooney, cabinet member for children and families, said steps had been taken to improve practices.

She added: "The report also recognises the significant impact the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic had on this case."

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