Child Protection Procedures - East Ayrshire Council

2.5 Health Service Staff
The Police will also have an important role at Case Conferences as
they are frequently in possession of crucial information with regard to
the victim or his/her family, which may have an important bearing on
the kind of protection plan drawn up by the Conference.
2.5.1 Health Services staff may identify or suspect cases of child abuse
during their work in many different settings. For some health staff
this may be a very rare event and early contact with key colleagues
who have more experience and involvement in the management of
cases should be made if there is any doubt on appropriate handling
of a case. The need to ensure proper protection for children
therefore requires that agencies share information promptly and
effectively when necessary. It should be noted that in this context
the “welfare of the child is of paramount concern at all stages of child
protection work”. The child’s interests will at times override the
general rule of professional confidentiality. Confidentiality of
personal health information is the cornerstone of the
patient/doctor/health professional relationship. In Scotland, guidance
on handling personal health information rests on the Code of Practice
on Confidentiality of Personal Health Information, issued to the NHS
in 1990. The Code sets out the main principles which have to be
followed by all NHS staff. The overriding principal of the Code is that
information about the health and welfare of a patient is confidential in
respect of that patient and such information should not be disclosed
to other persons without the consent of the patient, except in certain
well defined circumstances. These are:
• where disclosure is in the wider public interest
• where disclosure is necessary to prevent serious
injury or damage to the health of a third party
• where disclosure is in the best interests of the patient.,
(Source: Protecting children A Shared Responsibility Guidance for Health
Professionals in Scotland – Published January, 2000)
2.5.2 Research experience have shown repeatedly that keeping children
safe from harm requires professionals and others to share
information: about a child’s health and development and exposure to
possible harm, about a parent who may need help to or may not be
able to, care for a child adequately and safely and about those who
may pose a risk of harm to a child. Often, it is only when information
from a number of sources has been shared and is then put together
that it becomes clear that a child is at risk of or is suffering harm.
2.5.3 Details of key health professionals who have specialist roles in the
diagnosis, treatment and management of child abuse cases should
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