THE health service risks a repeat of further child abuse tragedies because of problems with child protection, according to the healthcare regulator.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said excessive workloads, poor monitoring and a lack of training were all common in health trusts in England.

Healthcare professionals in Waltham Forest were recently criticised after the death of a baby at the hands of his mother in Walthamstow.

The three-month-old boy, known as Baby JK, was believed to have suffered brain damage after being shaken violently.

A post mortem revealed previous injuries, including a fractured skull and rib, which were compared to those caused by a road accident.

Maria Kompusova, 22, was found guilty of manslaughter, but the full circumstances which led to the her son’s death have never been revealed because she always maintained her innocence.

A review into the baby's death found they health workers failed to collect enough information, which led to the case never being referred to social services.

The family also moved between boroughs, meaning vital information was not passed on.

A spokeswoman for NHS Waltham Forest said: "We're completely compliant with the core standards set out by the CQC.

"Even before the Baby JK case came to court and around the time the incident happened, the trust was carrying out a full review of the way it delivered child protection.

"It developed an action plan which has now been completely delivered.

"We're monitoring it to make absolutely sure we're caring for children."

The CQC report found little more than half the relevant healthcare staff receive the proper training and only about a third of GPs.

NHS boards have also been criticised for failing to make child protection a higher priority and a fifth of trusts have said health visitors have too many children on their books.

Hospitals are also reported to be failing to follow up with children who miss appointments, including those with GPs, health visitors, paediatricians and those being seen at walk-in centres.

Peter Carter, of the Royal College of Nursing, said trusts should be ashamed of the findings.