Baby P doctors were subject to excessive workload

Peter Connolly died from more than 50 injuries inflicted by his mother, her boyfriend and his brother in August 2007.

Dr Kim Holt, who worked at St Ann’s Hospital in Haringey, had written to managers detailing problems at the hospital in 2006.

A report into her complaints about the management of paediatric services and inadequate staffing levels found her concerns were "genuine" and were taken seriously by her employer, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust.

The report also found that the trust's management made genuine attempts to address these concerns as much as possible.

"In our view from the evidence we have seen, the workload of the consultant team was excessive between 2006 to May 2008," the report said.

The report concluded that the workload of staff and the need to improve communication between management and clinicians could have been managed more effectively in the interests of patient care. 

Dr Holt had been a consultant community paediatrician at the Child Development Centre at St Ann's Hospital since 2004 but in 2006 she raised concerns about a lack of resources and poor management culture at the hospital.

Shadow children’s minister Tim Loughton said: "It is deeply unnerving that this information is only coming to light a full year after the first serious case review into Baby Peter’s horrific death.

"If lessons are to be learned and public confidence in child protection restored, we have to have complete transparency. The government must publish full serious case reviews as a matter of course rather than allowing crucial details to slowly drip out."

Professor Trish Morris-Thompson, chief nurse at NHS London, said she is working with NHS Haringey and Great Ormond Street to make sure the report’s recommendations are put in place.

"We must make sure that every lesson is learned to safeguard children in our care," she added.