Improve early identification of neglect, doctors urged
Lauren Higgs
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Doctors have been urged to step up support for families at risk of neglecting their children, following the publication of new General Medical Council (GMC) guidelines on child protection.
The guidance, Protecting children and young people: the responsibilities of all doctors, is designed to support professionals to deal with a wide range of complex child protection issues.
It instructs doctors treating adults to consider whether patients pose a risk to children or young people, in terms of both abuse and neglect.
Shaun Kelly, head of safeguarding at Action for Children, argued that the guidance should be used as a catalyst to improve support for families where child neglect is an issue.
“We know that families experiencing neglect don’t get referred early enough,” he said. “They bump along the bottom, often for some time.
“In cases like that we want to see doctors and other health professionals thinking about what they can do to help families. That might mean giving direct advice on nutrition, or on daycare for children.
“It could be talking to patients about the impact that drug or alcohol abuse can have on children and young people or it might be having discussions with other professionals such as health visitors or midwives.”
Kelly added that doctors, particularly GPs, should be given training to back up the guidance, so they are clear about how parental drug and alcohol misuse, mental health issues and domestic violence can have a knock-on effect on children and young people.
“It’s vital that professionals are thinking about what the needs of adults mean in regard to children and young people as well,” he said.
The guidance was developed after the GMC received reports that high profile child protection cases and a fear of complaints from parents was deterring some doctors from raising safeguarding concerns.
Dr Hilary Cass, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, argued that doctors would be more able to act on child protection worries as a result of the guidance.
“It will give doctors a lot more confidence to know that they are doing the right thing when raising concerns and just help them with difficult judgment calls,” she said.
“It absolutely acknowledges that this is a difficult area of work. One shouldn’t underestimate just how important that acknowledgement is for people. It’s explicit that provided you follow the guidance and act in good faith, you’re not going to be criticised by the GMC.”
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, said doctors often find themselves having to make “difficult and delicate judgments in a charged atmosphere”.
“The decisions made or not made as a result can have far reaching consequences,” he said.
“Doctors who make child protection decisions based on the guidance will be able to justify their actions if a complaint is made against them - provided their conclusions are honestly held and have been pursued through the appropriate channels.”
A year long working group chaired by senior family judge Lord Justice Thorpe produced the guidance after hearing evidence from a range of child protection experts. It will now be issued to more than 230,000 doctors across the country.
As well as setting out doctor’s roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding, the guidance also includes advice on information sharing, working in partnership with other agencies, consent for child protection examinations and acting as a witness in court.
