TRACEY SUTHERLAND'S TRAGIC FAILURE IN WYTHENSHAWE: BABY DIES AFTER SOCIAL SERVICES MISSED 17 WARNING SIGNS

In a heartbreaking case that has shocked the community of Wythenshawe, Manchester, a 13-month-old baby named Alex Sutherland lost his life after enduring three days of suffering in front of a gas fire, with his body severely burned and charred. The tragic death occurred despite numerous warnings and calls for intervention from various agencies and individuals, highlighting a catastrophic failure in child protection services.

According to a detailed Serious Case Review published yesterday, Alex had been dead for at least three days when his lifeless body was discovered. The young child was found in his pushchair, positioned in front of a blazing gas fire, with visible signs of neglect and abuse. His tiny hands, legs, and buggy were covered in feces, and he was suffering from severe nappy rash. Additionally, bruising was evident on his head and other parts of his body, indicating ongoing physical abuse and neglect.

His mother, Tracey Sutherland, aged 39 and formerly employed in a pharmacy, was found nearby by police officers walking in the rain, dressed in her pyjamas and smelling strongly of alcohol. Her subsequent admission of neglect led to her being sentenced to 27 months in prison. The circumstances surrounding her care for Alex and her own lifestyle choices have come under intense scrutiny following the findings of the review.

The report reveals that over the course of the months leading up to Alex’s death, there were at least 17 separate occasions when concerns about his welfare were raised. These concerns came from a variety of sources, including relatives, friends, police officers, healthcare professionals, nurses, and a childminder. Despite these repeated warnings, social services failed to act decisively, and Alex was not placed on the ‘at risk’ register. This oversight allowed him to continue living with his mother at their home in Wythenshawe, even though she openly admitted to drinking up to six bottles of wine daily.

In a tragic echo of the well-known case of Baby P, also known as Peter Connelly, who died in 2007 after suffering numerous injuries over an eight-month period despite multiple visits from social workers and NHS professionals, Alex’s case underscores systemic failures in child protection. A review conducted by Lord Laming in 2009 had already highlighted issues such as poor communication between agencies, under-trained social workers, and a ‘tick box’ mentality that hindered effective safeguarding.

The Manchester Safeguarding Children’s Board’s report criticizes health and social workers for their poor management of Alex’s case, describing his neglect as both predictable and preventable. It refers to him as Child T and his mother as Mrs E, emphasizing that despite multiple contacts from concerned parties about Mrs E’s alcohol misuse, no significant action was taken to reassess the risks or protect the child. The report states, “Child T was known to agencies because of Mrs E’s misuse of alcohol, yet 17 expressions of concern (including four alleging she was drunk) failed to prompt a reassessment of the initial low-risk judgment.”

Furthermore, the report details that Mrs E’s alcohol problem was longstanding, beginning at the age of eight when she was introduced to drinking by her step-father. By 2007, she was consuming six bottles of wine daily and continued drinking throughout her pregnancy. Just three weeks after Alex’s birth in October 2008, police were called to her home after finding him lying on the floor in front of a gas fire while she was intoxicated and staggering around. Despite this, she was allowed to keep custody of Alex after insisting she would address her alcohol issues. However, her neglect culminated in his tragic death, prompting her to express remorse and confusion in police interviews, asking, “Do I go to prison now?”

In April of the previous year, Sutherland was convicted and sentenced to prison at Manchester Crown Court. The tragedy has prompted apologies from health authorities and social services. Laura Roberts, chief executive of NHS Manchester, expressed regret that the full extent of Alex’s neglect was not recognized earlier. Pauline Newman, director of Children’s Services for the city council, acknowledged that there were clear areas where improvements could have been made and assured that extensive measures have been implemented since Alex’s death. These include enhanced training for staff to challenge and confront parental alcohol abuse more assertively, aiming to prevent such failures from recurring in the future.