CHILD PROTECTION

Child Protection: an Evaluation of Children Services in UK

Child Protection: an Evaluation of Children Services in UK

Introduction

There are a number of factors which are necessary to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all who either work, are cared for or who visit in a children's ward or department(aged 5-12yrs). There have been several recent media swoops regarding important issues such as security in children's departments which is a growing concern for Trust managers, and this is only one element of providing a safe environment for children, young people and their families.

Aims/Objectives

The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the importance of maintaining a high profile of such issues, especially in a children's environment and how in a busy Children's Unit, part of the University Teaching Hospital in Nottingham, a focused and strategic approach to the management of health, safety and risk brought about positive changes and improved quality of care to patients, i.e. children and their families and a safer environment for staff to work in. The paper also aims to discuss that providing a safe environment can encompass a number of different dimensions ranging from the physical environment, equipment, toys and items provided within the physical environment, management and maintenance of equipment ensuring safe working practices through a process of staff training and education, safe food handling, safe use of hazardous substances, security of property, people including staff, and the list goes on.

Limitation

A numbers of limitations to the data collection exercise have been noted. The time constraint is we have limited time. It was necessary to be aware of all current legislation in respect of health and safety in a busy acute Trust such as the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC), Nottingham.

Research Question

Did the police and other agencies participate fully for protect child in order to contribute to multi agency analysis of the information?

What about the process to protect children? Did Social worker contact with family who got Children?

Did the agencies supplying the support workers have comprehensive child protection policies?

Literature Review: Child Protection: an Evaluation of Children Services of Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) in UK

The centrality of wellbeing in the lives of children is epitomised in the United Nation (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989). Ireland ratified this convention in 1992 and the first National Children's Strategy (Department of Health and Children, 2000) followed. The Irish strategy specifically recognised the development of indicators of children's wellbeing as an action, putting the concept of wellbeing to the fore at a national level (Department of Health and Children, 2000). The strategy also identified three key goals: children will have a voice, children's lives will be better understood and children will receive quality supports and services. That children's lives be better understood is a necessary contributing step to the development of child centred quality supports, services and policies and it would appear logical that actively seeking out childrens' voices would facilitate this endeavour. However, this has not always been the case and traditionally adults have provided ...