Greater co-operation between agencies was a key recommendation of the Laming Inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie, but a National Children's Bureau (NCB) report has found many partnerships between hospitals and social services are beset by poor com- munication and co-ordination.
Three quarters of hospital staff surveyed for the report said they had difficulty making contact with a social worker to talk about child protection.
Report co-author Di Hart, NCB principal officer for youth justice and welfare, said: "We found differences in procedure and culture that aren't being addressed, increasing the likelihood of cases like Victoria Climbie being missed.
"In some cases hospitals felt social services did not treat their concerns about a child seriously and on the other side we found some social services felt cases presented to them were too vague."
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