Child Protection Medicals Training and Resources

Date: Monday, 21st Aug 2023 | Category: Uncategorised

The child protection medical assessment toolkit has been developed in partnership between health, social care and police and is aimed at anyone in Birmingham and Solihull who works with and has safeguarding responsibilities for children of any age – this includes nursery and teaching staff, voluntary organisations, health and social care professionals and police officers.

The toolkit includes a step-by-step guide for professionals to follow if they have concerns about any marks, bruises or injuries as well as a simple screening tool graphic to help professionals to quickly recognise concerning bruising on the body.

The Designated Safeguarding Doctors and Nurses have produced a video to develop a shared understanding amongst professionals of when a child protection medical is required within the safeguarding assessment for a child / young person.

The aims of the presentation are for practitioners to:

• Have a baseline knowledge of the purpose of a child protection medical and how they are arranged
• Be aware of signs to indicate a Child Protection medical is required where there are concerns regarding physical abuse, neglect or child sexual abuse
• Understand the importance of the examining clinicians having appropriate consent for medical examination
• Have knowledge of the significance of sentinel injury
• Be aware of patterns of bruising in children and their significance
• Be aware of factors that influence whether a child makes a disclosure
• Have a knowledge of Mountain Healthcare Service and the importance of their contribution in Strategy Meetings for cases of suspected child sexual abuse

The presentation uses case examples to support understanding and draws on learning from reviews of incidents where children have been seriously harmed.  There is an opportunity to look at the reason for conducting further medical investigations such as X-rays and scans and their importance as part of the medical.

The discussion looks at reasons why children may or may not make a disclosure and, in some instances, why they may later retract a disclosure.  The video explores what actions may still be important for professionals to consider even when a child declines a medical examination, especially a sexual abuse medical.

These resources aim to provide valuable information and guidance for practitioners across Birmingham and Solihull.