This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/01/two-year-old-boy-adoption-cigarette-smoke
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Two-year-old boy from 'smoky house' to be placed for adoption | Two-year-old boy from 'smoky house' to be placed for adoption |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A two-year-old boy has been taken from his parents’ care after a health visitor highlighted concerns about the level of cigarette smoke at his home. | A two-year-old boy has been taken from his parents’ care after a health visitor highlighted concerns about the level of cigarette smoke at his home. |
| Health visitor Julie Allen told a family court judge she had not come across such a “smoky house” in her 10-year career. She described the boy and his father being surrounded by a visible cloud of smoke and said she had difficulty breathing. | Health visitor Julie Allen told a family court judge she had not come across such a “smoky house” in her 10-year career. She described the boy and his father being surrounded by a visible cloud of smoke and said she had difficulty breathing. |
| Judge Louise Pemberton, who was also told of a number of other concerns about the way the child was being cared for, concluded that he should be placed for adoption. | Judge Louise Pemberton, who was also told of a number of other concerns about the way the child was being cared for, concluded that he should be placed for adoption. |
| Details of the case have emerged in a written ruling by the judge following a family court hearing in Hull. | |
| The judge said the family could not be identified. She did not identify the local authority that had asked for the boy to be placed for adoption, but she named individual health and social services staff who had worked with the family. | The judge said the family could not be identified. She did not identify the local authority that had asked for the boy to be placed for adoption, but she named individual health and social services staff who had worked with the family. |
| Pemberton said the boy had breathing problems and needed an inhaler, and she said that Allen had “graphically highlighted” concerns about smoke. | Pemberton said the boy had breathing problems and needed an inhaler, and she said that Allen had “graphically highlighted” concerns about smoke. |
| “On entering the living room Allen described being able to see a visible cloud of smoke surrounding the father and [the boy],” said the judge. “[The boy] was asleep on the sofa and had been unwell for some time by this point. | “On entering the living room Allen described being able to see a visible cloud of smoke surrounding the father and [the boy],” said the judge. “[The boy] was asleep on the sofa and had been unwell for some time by this point. |
| “Ms Allen described the room as ‘so smoke-entrenched that I had difficulty breathing’. She immediately expressed concern to the parents as to the impact of such smoke on [the boy], who had already been prescribed an inhaler within the previous month to help his breathing. | “Ms Allen described the room as ‘so smoke-entrenched that I had difficulty breathing’. She immediately expressed concern to the parents as to the impact of such smoke on [the boy], who had already been prescribed an inhaler within the previous month to help his breathing. |
| “The parents seemed unable both at that stage, and when the issue of smoking around [the boy] was raised by any other professional, to acknowledge or appreciate the concern and adapt their behaviour.” | “The parents seemed unable both at that stage, and when the issue of smoking around [the boy] was raised by any other professional, to acknowledge or appreciate the concern and adapt their behaviour.” |
| Pemberton added: “Ms Allen ... had not come across such a smoky house in many years and never with such a poorly boy sleeping amidst the smoke.” | Pemberton added: “Ms Allen ... had not come across such a smoky house in many years and never with such a poorly boy sleeping amidst the smoke.” |
| The judge said community nursery nurse Emma Green had told how the floor of the boy’s home was “cluttered” with rubbish, including empty cigarette packets – and had said the boy’s home “often smelt very strongly of smoke”. | |
| Social worker Sarah Tomblin had said the boy’s toys and clothes “smelt heavily of smoke”. | |
| Health and social services staff had also raised other concerns about the boy’s care. | |
| The judge was told that the boy’s father had mental health problems, that there had been a decline in his parents’ engagement with agencies, that the boy’s home was “dirty, smelly and unhygienic”. | |
| She also heard that “potential drug paraphernalia” had been spotted at the boy’s home and she said the boy’s father had tested positive for cocaine. | |
| Pemberton said she was afraid that the little boy had suffered harm. She said his parents’ care of him had fallen well below “good enough”. | |
| “I am afraid that all of these matters lead me to an unavoidable and difficult conclusion that the risks to [the boy] in being placed with his parents are far too high,” said the judge. | |
| “The parents have given me no confidence in their written or oral evidence that they have sufficient understanding and awareness in relation to the professionals’ concerns to ensure that such concerns would not arise again in the future. | |
| “Adoption really is the only option now available to [the boy]. In my view, nothing else will do.” | |
| She added: “I want [the boy] to know that in my judgment his parents loved him very much and tried very hard but they were simply not able to meet his needs.“ | |
| The couple had opposed the local authority application for their son to be placed for adoption. Pemberton said the boy’s mother had disputed many of the concerns raised about conditions at home and about levels of smoke. | |
| She had told the judge “we did not smoke in the house” and said she had been “paranoid” about cleanliness. The judge said she had found much of the woman’s evidence hard to accept. | |
| She said the boy’s father had accepted that there was “thick smoke at the property”. |