Doctors get guidance on child protection

The advice from the General Medical Council (GMC), which comes into effect today, is designed to give doctors confidence to act when they need to and makes clear where they can turn for support.

The guidance, Protecting Children And Young People: The Responsibilities Of All Doctors, was produced following a two-year working group chaired by senior family judge Lord Justice Thorpe after hearing evidence from a range of child protection experts.

It comes as a survey by website Netmums, which the GMC commissioned, found that 94 per cent of parents agreed that doctors had a duty to find out if a child was at risk – even when they were only treating adult patients. Some 1,500 people responded to the survey that looked at their experiences of when their child was taken ill or injured and how they thought doctors should act if they suspected abuse or neglect.

Some 99 per cent of respondents said doctors should take steps to find out whether a child was at risk if they thought parents were taking illegal drugs or abusing alcohol.

The guidance makes clear that if doctors are treating an adult patient, they must consider whether the patient poses a risk to children. Doctors must be able to identify risk factors in a patient’s environment that might raise concerns about abuse or neglect.

They must also listen to parents and children, recognise parents’ understanding of their children and keep an open mind about the possible cause of an injury.