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

PART 2 HEALTH SERVICES RESPONSIBILITIES IN CHILD PROTECTION
Chapter 5 NHS Links with Other Agencies
This section:
Highlights importance of inter-agency working.
Outlines role of Chief Officers in promoting joint working.
Outlines role of Child Protection Committees.
Sets out the responsibilities of NHS 24 and Scottish Ambulance Service.
All healthcare staff, in accordance with their statutory and professional
responsibilities, must work with local authorities, police and other partner
agencies, to protect children and young people to reduce risk and protect from
abuse, neglect, and to promote their wellbeing. All front-line staff must know how
to access local child protection guidelines and child protection advisers.
Strategic Links between Boards and Local Authorities
The Framework for Standards outlines the standards which all services should
strive to provide. These include that:
Agencies and professionals should work together to assess needs and
risks and develop effective plans on an interdisciplinary and interagency
basis.
Agencies work in partnership with members of the community to protect
children and young people.
Agencies individually and collectively demonstrate leadership and
accountability for their work and its effectiveness.
A Quality Improvement Framework, using quality indicators, helps services
evaluate how well they protect children and meet their needs.¹
Chief Constables, Chief Executives of Health Boards and Local Authorities,
referred to as Chief Officers, are responsible for ensuring that their agencies,
individually and collectively, work to protect children and young people as
effectively as possible. In order to achieve effective partnership working, there
needs to be positive and constructive working relationships between individuals
and agencies, exemplified and promoted by strong leadership and commitment
of Chief Executives, Directors, and Lead Members in all agencies.
It is essential that health services have robust and effective joint working with
other agencies to promote the wellbeing of children and young people and
protect them from abuse and neglect. Within each Health Board area there are a
number of strategic groups which plan and deliver systems and processes to
improve joint working and communication across and between agencies, in
particular Integrated Children Service Planning and the Child Protection
Committee.
Chief Officers should demonstrate effective collaborative working to discharge
their child protection responsibilities and consistently promote effective joint
working within and across services.
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