Suffolk Safeguarding Records of my Childhood Sexual Abuse

The request was refused by Suffolk County Council.

Alastair Patterson

Dear Suffolk County Council,

Re: Alastair Patterson, D.O.B. 20.03.59.

1. I am looking to locate the records of my childhood sexual abuse originating from the Ipswich Hospital and Suffolk County Council over the summer of 1973. These are required for the police investigation of the abuse (CRN IC/14/4800; CPS Ref: 37MA0343615).

2. Do you hold any records of the following events and, if so, how can I obtain them? The events over the period 17.11.72 - 19.11.75 are:
(a) my admission to the Casualty Department of Anglesea Road Wing on 19.06.73, following a Pehnergan overdose, and discharge, by a Dr Hughes, from the Heath Road Wing on 20.06.73 on the advice of a Dr Judith Cuthill from the Institute of Family Psychiatry (letter from Dr Hughes to my GP 09.07.73);
(b) the resulting police reports and action against my parents for the offence of child cruelty under s.1(1) Children and Young Peoples Act 1933 along with the victim support afforded me following Dr Cuthill's advice;
(c) Suffolk County Council Legal and Social Services provision of that victim support. It seems that the NPPCC; Suffolk Legal Services; and a Suffolk County Council social worker acting as my legal guardian appointed my abuser as a children's advocate as part of a secret child protection plan.

3. The child protection plan was intended to enable Dr Hughes to safely discharge me on the 20th June 1973 as a person lacking capacity who had self harmed. The protective measures were recommended by Dr Judith Cuthill and are described in her letter to my GP of the 25 July 1973 with follow up on 16.08.73 after a child protection conference.

4.. My address at the time was 95 Tuddenham Avenue Ipswich and I attended the, then, Northgate Grammar School For Boys in Ipswich.

5. For the avoidance of doubt, I waive all legal privilege on materials and documents held by the Suffolk Constabulary; NSPCC; Suffolk County Council; The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust; and the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Trust over the period 17th November 1972 - 19th November 1975 in respect to those events.

Yours faithfully,
Alastair Patterson

Information Management Services, Suffolk County Council

3 Attachments

Dear Mr Patterson,

 

Further to your email below, please find appended the application form
relevant to you applying for any information the council may hold about
you.  Please do not hesitate to contact us should you seek clarification
on any aspect of the form.

 

Please read the form carefully and when you submit your request, please
ensure you include all the necessary documentation such as evidence of
identity, current address.

 

Upon receipt of all the above, we will then process your request with
accordance to the Data Protection Act 1998.

 

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Kind regards

Amanda

 

Amanda O’Mara

Business Support Officer

Performance and Information Management

Resource Management

Suffolk County Council

2^nd Floor | Constantine House | Constantine Road | Ipswich | Suffolk |
IP1 2DH

Tel: 01473 264 814

Email: [1][email address]

Web: [2]www.suffolk.gov.uk

                     

[3]cid:image006.png@01D265BC.B0495A60[4]cid:image004.jpg@01D265BC.B03D2560

 

 

show quoted sections

Alastair Patterson

Dear Amanda,
I do apologise, I think that you have misunderstood me. This is FOI request to establish the existence of records that then either my solicitors can apply for or I can consent or waive legal privilege for the police to seize.

Child abuse is being covered up by keeping the child in ignorance of the intervening bodies and their records of how they abused the child rather than meeting their duty of care to protect him (see the Terms of Reference of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse).

In my own case, on around 20.06.73, the Ipswich Hospital should have made a police report of child cruelty by my father under s.1(1) Children and Young Peoples Act 1933: that by causing me to receive an education at the, then, Northgate Grammar School for Boys, he exposed in a manner likely to cause me an unnecessary injury to my health, on the grounds of emotional neglect, and failed to protect me from the physical and psychological abuse of the school. This is confirmed by Dr Cuthill's letter of the 25.07.73 on my GP medical records which the Suffolk Police hold.

As victim support for a reported crime, a social worker was appointed as my legal guardian who in turn appointed a paedophile as my children's advocate to address the problems of my emotional neglect and protect me from the school. These were the necessary protective measures so that I could be safely released from the Ipswich Hospital as person who had self harmed and lacked capacity in meeting the duty of care to protect me.

Virtually all safeguarding problems are attributed to failures in inter agency working. This is the point where inter agency working occurs, previously through the MAPPA process for offending and the MARAC process for mental health. Thus, you should also hold records of involvement with other agencies that document the failings. The FOI act requires that you signpost me to those organisations.

The existence of my records is a FOI issue and making public the existence of records in respect to myself is matter for me and not for you. It is the only means of publicly demonstrating the systemic cover up of child sexual abuse. If nothing else, your evasion in dealing with the legitimate inquiries of child sex abuse victims is publicly visible.

Yours sincerely,

Alastair Patterson

Information Management Services, Suffolk County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Patterson

Thank you for your email, unfortunately we would be unable to provide you with the information requested under the Freedom of Information Act as you are requesting your own personal data. Under the Freedom of Information Act any information that is provided in response to a request becomes public information and available for anyone anywhere to see and access. You are within your right to put your own personal data into the public domain however, if you wish to pursue this information under the Freedom of Information Act please be aware that we would refuse disclosure under Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act.

This is not to say that you cannot access your information but that you would need to do so under the Data Protection Act. If you would like to go down this route please can you complete and return the attached form, however we would advise you do this outside of whatdotheyknow.com as to do so through this website would allow everyone to see your information.

Kind regards

Becky PC.foi.
FOI Lead Officer
Performance and Information Management
Suffolk County Council
Constantine House
Constantine Road
Ipswich
IP1 2DH

Tel: 01473 265960
Fax: 01473 216843
Email: [email address]
Web: www.suffolk.gov.uk

show quoted sections