Birmingham commissioner slams NHS over joint working failures

Lord Norman Warner, who became Birmingham’s independent children’s commissioner after a number of critical reports on failings in the children’s social care department, said joint working between agencies has improved since his appointment last March, but that the NHS is still not doing enough to help with safeguarding.  

In an interview with CYP Now, Warner warned that too few NHS staff are involved in the city’s recently-developed multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH), and that he has raised his concerns with NHS England.

He said: “The NHS has been a bit slow to start [involvement in the MASH]. They are there but not quite in the numbers I’d like them to be. I’ve had to contact the chief executive of NHS England to seek his help in trying to improve the NHS’s approach to partnership working.”

Warner wants to see Birmingham Council and the NHS draw up an annual memorandum of understanding that sets out “what will happen” for all children’s services for the year.

Such an approach would ensure there is “some kind of plan of campaign as to how the NHS will work with the city council to the benefit of children in Birmingham”, he added.

“We’ve got to be more energetic in this sphere as many of these children [with safeguarding concerns] have health needs too, such as mental health.”

He also said that the government’s reorganisation of the NHS had “fragmented” health services in Birmingham and caused problems for co-ordinating joint working.

By contrast, he said partnership work between the police and council over tackling recent child sexual exploitation concerns has been “good”, and showed “there are people who can work together and have good ideas to protect children”.

Senior Birmingham head teachers are also involved in the MASH, although Warner said the increasing autonomy of academy schools “makes the co-ordination of education in the safeguarding process more difficult”.

He added: “At least we are getting to the point where outside agencies own the problem [safeguarding]. They know they have a responsibility and can’t simply blame it on the city council.”

Warner also warned that the rising demand for children’s social care means that Birmingham Council will have to consider outsourcing services if it finds outside organisations can deliver provision more efficiently.

Last month, Warner published his second report into his work in Birmingham, which outlined the progress made in addressing problems with child protection systems and practice and further concerns he has over funding of services and the recruitment and retention of social workers.

Warner was appointed as commissioner, initially for one year, in March 2014, following the publication of a critical independent review of Birmingham's social care department by Professor Julian Le Grand.

To read the interview with Lord Warner, see the latest edition of CYP Now or click here.