HEALTH trusts which were unable to prevent the torture of Baby Peter have now addressed most of their failings, a report has found.

In a report by the Care Quality Commission, (CQC), the four NHS trusts involved in 17-month-old Peter’s care, which include Haringey Teaching Primary Care Trust, have made “significant improvements” in the way they deal with child protection.

Peter, who died from injuries inflicted by his mother, her boyfriend and a lodger, had been seen 60 times by health and social workers but information on his deteriorating condition had not been shared between the agencies.

The trust commissioned services from Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, such as the managing of paediatric consultants, and was particularly criticised in a report from the CQC last year.

The 2009 report made five recommendations. This year’s follow-up report found three recommendations had been met, while two “almost” had.

It said: “Our report raised concerns about the poor communication between different agencies. This was attributed to staff not adhering to processes and poor attendance at multi-agency meetings. Having reviewed documentary evidence, it is clear that all four trusts have the necessary policies and guidance in place to enable staff to make an appropriate referral.”

In fact, there had been an increase in the number of referrals from health visitors, hospital staff and nurses, partly due to improved links with social services, the report said.

However, one recommendation that has not fully been met is ensuring Haringey teaching Primary Care Trust has “sufficient appropriately qualified paediatric staff available when required”. The report said an extra £2.5 million had now been invested, £1.25 million into community services such as health visitors, school nurses, and management of paediatric consultants, which is all run in the borough by Great Ormond Street.

Baby Peter was also treated at St Ann’s Hospital in Tottenham, at a clinic run by Great Ormond Street.

A review following his death, found there had been a shortage of medical and clerical staff at the hospital, but this concern had now been addressed, the CQC report said.

It also highlighted three areas which “require attention”: improving the quality of data collection, improvements to staff training, an ensuring a sufficient number of skilled staff are in place.

The other two trusts considered in the report are North Middlsex University Hospital NHS Trust and The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust.