Abstract
Background and aims: Following the tragic death of an 8 year old girl called Victoria Climbie in 2000 due to child abuse, the British Government ordered a public inquiry to be chaired by Lord Laming into the circumstances surrounding her contact with each of the agencies and “the gross failure of the system to protect her”. The report was published in January 2003. This report had 108 recommendations. Recommendations 64-90 were healthcare related. We aimed to measure compliance with the Laming recommendations in a tertiary hospital in the United Kingdom (UK) and to compare the results with a previous similar audit.
Methods: Retrospective study of case notes. All child protection referrals to social services over a period of 4 months were reviewed and 17 relevant case notes were selected for final analysis. Out of the 27 health care related recommendations, 81-90 were not within our clinical remit. 79 and 80 were considered not auditable from the case notes. The remaining 15 recommendations were audited.
Results: See Image 1
Conclusions:
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• The adherence to Lord Laming recommendations is generally good in all areas.
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• There have been improvements, especially in communication with general practitioners and social services.
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• A few aspects of documentation, history taking and physical examination were unsatisfactory and have deteriorated as compared to the previous audit.
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• This audit illustrates the need for ongoing training for all health professionals in child protection procedures
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Palanivel, V., Anjay, M., Preston, L. et al. 1416 Audit of Child Protection Referrals in a Tertiary Centre in the United Kingdom. Pediatr Res 68 (Suppl 1), 700–701 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-201011001-01416
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-201011001-01416