National guidance for child protection in Scotland - Scottish ...

Chapter 2 Roles and Responsibilities of Healthcare Staff in the Process of
Protecting Children
This section:
Describes particular circumstances which may increase the chance of
harm.
Sets out actions that should be taken when concerns appear.
Provides advice on how to recognise and understand when there are
concerns about a child or young person.
The National on Child Protection Guidance states that: “All agencies that work
with children and their families have a shared responsibility for protecting children
and safeguarding their welfare. Each has a different contribution to make to this
common task.”
Where concerns are raised about the potential significant harm to a child or
young person they should be considered child protection concerns.
All healthcare staff have a responsibility to act to make sure that all children and
young people are protected from harm. This responsibility includes acting on
concerns about a child or young person even if the child or young person
is not your patient. All healthcare staff should be aware of the significance of
the following situations as these may be an indication of stress within a family
creating increased risk to the child/ren or young person. Local guidance should
be available in relation to these issues and indicators of risk are discussed in
more detail in Part 4 of the National Guidance. Further indicators of risk in
specific circumstances are explored in more detail at Appendix 5.
INDICATORS OF RISK
Changes in family dynamics (e.g. bereavement, new partner, separation,
relapse in addiction/ mental health, etc).
‘Closure’ of a family (e.g. no access, non-engagement/non-compliance
with professionals).
Longstanding educational difficulties.
Experiencing discrimination, perhaps because of their race, nationality,
sexuality or religion.
Third party information shared with healthcare staff.
Refusal or withdrawal from health services – parents have the
responsibility to act on behalf of their child/ren to ensure that they are in
receipt of health services.
Refusal of treatment where a child or young person experiences or is
likely to experience significant harm or neglect can never be considered in
the child’s best interest.
Not registered with GP – healthcare staff have a responsibility to support
the process of facilitating registration.
Overuse/frequent attendees of health services.
The unseen child or young person
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