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

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from the reporter or from an agent representing the child or relevant person. This could be in relation to a proof or an appeal against a children’s hearing decision. Precognition Statement A precognition statement is often taken prior to a case being heard in court. Its purpose is to try and establish the evidence in the case. The GMC acknowledges this arrangement that is peculiar to Scots Law where there is limited disclosure of information in advance of a criminal trial, to both the Crown and Defence, without the patient’s express consent. There is also the facility to have a witness cited under oath within the provisions of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 to appear in front of a Sheriff for this purpose. Staff who have received citations for court may be approached by the Children’s Reporter, the child’s legal representative or the family’s legal representative for a statement. Good practice should be seeking advice from the Lead Clinician or child protection adviser when a request is made. The legal measures for the protection of children and young people at risk are fully explained earlier in this document. It is the responsibility of the Board to ensure that designated officers oversee, give support and time to staff to undertake the necessary administrative work, prepare detailed reports and to have access to appropriate legal advice. Other key activities are to: Ensure familiarity with local court procedures including the workings of the Children’s Reporter, the Sheriff Court and the High Court. Ensure that there are opportunities to be precognosed in advance of the court process by a solicitor. Attend court to provide support to staff through the evidential process. Allow staff the opportunity to discuss their involvement in the case and be offered further clinical supervision following court proceedings. Facilitate peer review in a supportive environment. There is a requirement that the staff involved in child protection have the necessary training, skills and experience in this area of practice where there is compliance with any revalidation requirements of their respective regulatory bodies. This will involve knowledge of relevant quality standards such as those from the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM), the ability to produce court reports of the necessary quality and to give effective evidence in court if called upon to do so. To that end, it may also be beneficial to attend a report writing and courtroom skills course where a number of commercial organisations and the Faculty of Advocates can assist in this respect. The three medical defence organisations in the UK are able to provide generic advice on giving evidence but as the doctor is giving evidence of fact in their professional capacity or expert evidence, it is not possible for them to be separately represented. It may also be useful to discuss the case with a representative of the Central Legal Office but it is important to bear in mind that 39
an increasing number of doctors have been referred to the GMC in respect to expert evidence and any issues with the regulator will not be covered by NHS indemnity. Consequently, doctors undertaking this work should ensure valid membership of a defence organisation in case they are required to account in this way. 40
Page 1 and 2: CHILD PROTECTION GUIDANCE for Healt
Page 3 and 4: © Crown copyright 2013 You may re-
Page 5 and 6: MINISTERIAL FOREWORD Keeping Scotla
Page 7 and 8: affecting children, young people an
Page 9 and 10: and must be familiar with local pro
Page 11 and 12: experiencing difficulties in lookin
Page 13 and 14: Chapter 2 Roles and Responsibilitie
Page 15 and 16: Chapter 3 Sharing a Child Protectio
Page 17 and 18: Healthcare staff have a duty to co-
Page 19 and 20: Specific advice is provided below r
Page 21 and 22: Emergency and Urgent Care Medical S
Page 23 and 24: Specialist Child Protection Paediat
Page 25 and 26: PART 2 HEALTH SERVICES RESPONSIBILI
Page 27 and 28: NHS 24 NHS 24 is Scotland’s Natio
Page 30 and 31: Specification for a Child Protectio
Page 32 and 33: The Executive Director Lead Child P
Page 34 and 35: Provide advice and support on child
Page 36 and 37: Healthcare staff should seek advice
Page 38 and 39: individuals made through provisions
Page 40 and 41: All medical staff require both sing
Page 44 and 45: Appendix 1 Key Definitions and Conc
Page 46 and 47: Informal kinship care refers to car
Page 48 and 49: What is Harm and Significant Harm i
Page 50 and 51: Where a child is thought to be at r
Page 52 and 53: decision to remove a child's name w
Page 54 and 55: GIRFEC PRACTICE MODEL 51
Page 57 and 58: Proformas for Medical Assessment Ap
Page 59 and 60: 8. Reason for referral Briefing tak
Page 61 and 62: 11. Birth/Medical history 14. Devel
Page 63 and 64: 18. General examination Name(s) of
Page 65: Details of female genital findings
Page 68 and 69: Details of anal findings Natal fold
Page 70: Body diagrams Appendix A 67
Page 74 and 75: No access visit - when a visit has
Page 76 and 77: Missing Family Alert The purpose of
Page 78 and 79: High Risk Families High Risk Famili
Page 80 and 81: Risk taking behaviours as a result
Page 82 and 83: and child protection orders) to pro
Page 84 and 85: Children and Young People with Disa
Page 86 and 87: High Risk Families ACMD (2003). Hid
Page 88 and 89: Hester, M., Westmarland, N., Gangol
Page 90 and 91: Straus, M.A., Hamby, S.L., Finkelho
Page 92:
© Crown copyright 2013 ISBN: 978-1
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National guidance for child protection in Scotland - Scottish ...

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