"When can I see my daughter again?" Council won’t tell mother whose 13-year-old caught Covid-19 at a Northampton children’s home when she can see her again

The mother of an autistic 13-year-old-girl living at the children’s home at the centre of a major Covid outbreak says the local authority will not tell her when she can see her daughter again.

It’s been three months since Olivia Davide last saw her daughter Bella, a resident of Arnold House. The home has been hit by a major Covid outbreak with 13 staff and at least three of the five children at the home contracting the virus.

Olivia, who lives in Bushland Road, Northampton and has two other children besides Bella, said she is desperate to see her daughter, who is non-verbal and has had severe learning difficulties since birth.

She said Bella’s dad, from whom she is divorced, has been repeatedly trying to get answers from Northamptonshire County Council about when they can see Bella again. Before lockdown Bella used to be taken out of Arnold House by her family four times a week and enjoyed visits to the local fish and chip shop and to the park.

She said: “I have not had any contact with her for three months since the lockdown began. I hoped that now all children in the home had recovered I may be able to see my daughter but the council is unresponsive to requests. I have involved Michael Ellis MP but he has not been able to break through the bureaucratic/managerial structure to find out when family contact will resume. I will not rest until I have seen my daughter to ascertain her wellbeing.

“The latest government guidelines allow for isolated people to be reunited with their families but this does not appear to include my daughter who is not in an at risk group has already had the virus.

“I would like them to tell me when I can see my daughter.”

She added: “Just nothing is happening. No decisions are being made. Everything is frozen. There are just layers of bureaucracy and no-one seems to make a decision. No one has called me in recent days to tell me what is going on. How come protest marches with thousands of people are being allowed to happen in London, but I can’t see my daughter? I think there is empathy fatigue.”

Bella, who has had 22 social workers in ten years, moved into Arnold House in December 2016 and her mother was pleased she could live somewhere just seven minutes away from where she lived.

But she now imagines that her daughter is very unsettled by the lockdown, the change of staff and the new working arrangements, including staff dressed in PPE. She says that virtual contact would not have worked with Bella and have been distressing for her. She had her milestone 13th birthday in lockdown without her family.

The care manager and deputy manager as well as seven other staff members went into self-isolation since the lockdown began with management overseeing the home from a distance.

Children’s social services at Northamptonshire has been in trouble for many years and is rated as inadequate. The Government has been so concerned by the standards that it has sent in a commissioner to oversee the service and also instructed the department go into the hands of an independent trust, as had been done at other troubled local authorities such as Rotherham and Birmingham. The service is now being run by Cathi Hadley.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service put Mrs Davide’s question about when she could see Bella to Northamptonshire County Council.

It said: ‘Guidance from central government to minimise risk of the transmission of COVID-19 has meant that for most children and families, we have been unable to offer any face to face contact or allow visitors to our residential children’s homes.

“We are in regular contact with Public Health England who have advised that social distancing is key to keep the virus from spreading. However, the children and young people at Arnold House struggle with social distancing, therefore PHE strongly advise against any contact at the moment to exclude the risk of secondary immunity and to protect the home.

“Arnold House has adhered to the specific guidance on contact arrangements during COVID-19 and, while current restrictions remain in place, we are of course offering parents virtual contact wherever possible, until PHE advice tells us that it is safe to make changes.

“However, we are continuing to explore alternative ways of managing contact safely and these arrangements will be considered on a case by case basis, with the best interests of the child being our top priority.”