EVERY parent will empathise with Trisha Hodgson, the Ryedale mother whose baby was hurt by a falling shelf. She did the right thing: she took her child straight to hospital. But later she was made to feel as if she was being punished for her actions.

Ultimately, Bradley was found to have a fractured skull. This was a frightening diagnosis that left his mother shaken and upset. But her distress was increased many times by what followed.

Doctors told Trisha that Bradley's injury was such that they needed to talk to social services. She was given no further information, she says, until she threatened to walk out at 4.30pm the next day. By that stage she feared that social services were preparing to take Bradley away from her.

What the doctors at Scarborough Hospital did was right. They would be failing in their obligation to protect a child if they ignored signs that he might be being abused.

A medical examination can only determine the extent of an injury. It cannot determine whether the injury was caused accidentally or deliberately. That is why social services must investigate further.

After the failure of the North London authorities to protect Anna Climbie, the eight-year-old who died after prolonged and horrific abuse, we should be grateful that the North Yorkshire authorities are so vigilant.

But in their concern for the child, the health and social services staff at Scarborough seem to have forgotten the needs of the parent. They should have reassured Trisha Hodgson that the investigation into Bradley's injury was not only routine, but their statutory duty. They should have kept her informed of progress. Instead they made her feel guilty and scared.

This is a failure of communication, not procedure. It needs to be addressed. Otherwise, caring parents may hesitate before taking an injured child for treatment. That could be disastrous.

Updated: 12:06 Wednesday, January 24, 2001