'Wrong decision' over care plan before mum and daughter found dead

BBC News

6 days ago

A child protection plan for a vulnerable teenager was wrongfully removed months before she and her mum were found dead in their home, an inquest has heard.The bodies of Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, 47, and her 18-year-old daughter Loraine Choulla were discovered in a house in Radford, Nottingham on 21 May 2024.Concerns had been raised about Loraine, who had Down's Syndrome and learning disabilities, and in 2023 a child protection plan was implemented by social care teams at Nottingham City Council. On Wednesday, an inquest into their deaths heard the removal of that plan in January 2024, was a "wrong decision".
It is thought Alphonsine and Loraine may have been dead for weeks or even months before they were found in their council house in Hartley Road, where they had been living since 2019. The inquest, which will investigate how the mother and daughter died, will also examine whether there were any missed opportunities to save Loraine - if it is accepted her mother died before her. Loraine was "entirely dependent" on Alphonsine to eat and drink and was "primarily non-verbal", the court heard.
In 2021, Alphonsine began to stop engaging with housing, education and social care services. By 2022, Loraine stopped attending her special educational needs school. Giving evidence at Nottingham Coroner's Court, Nichola Goode a service manager for the council's whole life disability team, said due to her mother's lack of engagement, Loraine was considered a "vulnerable hidden child" and it was known her case was "complex". She added despite worries for Loraine, there were no concerns raised about her "presentation" and the relationship between her and her mother was observed as being "warm". The court heard that there "continued to be concerns about Loraine's health", her lack of education and her "social isolation" at the point her plan was terminated. Loraine's child protection plan was closed on 31 January 2024, before she had turned 18. Ms Goode told the inquest: "I think in hindsight, now that we've looked at that, it was a wrong decision made by child social care. We could have followed more thorough inquiries."She added: "We accept that we shouldn't have closed the plan".
It was known to the social care team that Alphonsine had been admitted to hospital critically unwell - days before her daughter's plan ended - and required "life-saving treatment". After her discharge, social care attempted a home visit but left when it "appeared no-one was home".Ms Goode said: "Had we believed Alphonsine and Loraine were inside, we would have called the police."The inquest has heard that days later, on 3 February, Alphonsine called 999 pleading for an ambulance, but the call was mistakenly considered abandoned and was subsequently closed, with no-one attending the property.Alphonsine's proposed medical cause of death was recorded as pneumonia, while Loraine's was not established. The inquest continues.If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support is available via the BBC Action Line