‘More needs to be done’ to
safeguard children in primary care
27 February
2007
A leading GP has warned that ‘much more needs to be done’ in
identifying and protecting children suffering from physical,
emotional or sexual abuse or neglect.
The statement was made
during an important lecture at the Royal College of General
Practitioners (RCGP) by College Fellow Professor Yvonne Carter,
Dean of Warwick Medical School, and is published in this month’s
British Journal of General Practice (BJGP).
Professor Carter said that
although lots of changes had been made in recent years within
primary care to protect children, especially after the public
inquiry into the murder of Victoria Climbié, three major challenges
lie ahead for the profession:
‘Firstly, there is an urgent
need to improve the evidence-base for child protection decision
making (e.g. at present there is a dearth of consensus on the
precise ageing of bruises). Secondly, we must restore public
and professional confidence in child protection work.
Finally, we must all work together to ensure that the protection of
children is recognised as a key responsibility for health
professionals.’
Entitled Lessons from the past, learning from the future:
Safeguarding children in primary care, the lecture was designed to
appeal to the straightforward factual evidence base, covering
• the history of the topic
• size of the problem
• diagnostic categories
• impact of the Victoria Climbié Inquiry
• importance of education and training and the role of the
College
During the lecture Professor
Carter also noted that since 1945 there have been at least 70
public inquiries into serious cases of child abuse in the UK.
She hoped the lecture would give GPs an appetite to learn more
about the subject of child protection and be inspired to continue
this valuable role in general practice and primary
care. She added: “Some doctors feel that child
protection work is the prime responsibility of other professionals
such as social workers and specialist paediatricians…the most
relevant issue is the lack of awareness of child protection issues
and inadequate training”.
The lecture, also known as
The William Pickles Lecture 2006, is published in the March issue
of the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP). Dr William
Pickles was the first president of the Royal College of General
Practitioners and a lecture is presented annually in his
honour. The lecture usually focuses on an educational
topic.
Ends
Press contact: Heather Whitney, RCGP Press Office, 020 7344 3137
press@rcgp.org.uk
Notes to editors:
1. Professor Yvonne Carter is one of Britain’s leading GPs on
issues surrounding child protection and has published extensively
in this area. In 2005 the RCGP published a strategy for GPs
on child protection, Keep Me Safe, written by Professor Yvonne
Carter and Dr Michael Bannon, Dean of Postgraduate Medical and
Dental Education at the University of Oxford. The document
calls for all GPs to make child protection one of their areas of
continued professional development.
The position statement can be viewed on the RCGP website:
www.rcgp.org.uk/PDF/Corp_childprotectionstrategy.pdf
2. Since this lecture was presented, the RCGP training
curriculum for general practitioners has been given unconditional
approval by the Postgraduate Medical Education Training Board
(PMETB). The curriculum states that all GPs need to respond
effectively to child protection issues. This is the first ever
national training curriculum for general practitioners and will be
introduced from August 2007.
The curriculum can be viewed on the RCGP website:
www.rcgp.org.uk/education/education_home/curriculum.aspx
3. Lessons from the past, learning for the future: safeguarding
children in primary care. Carter Y, British Journal of
General Practice 2007; 57:238-242
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the largest
membership organisation in the United Kingdom solely for GPs. It
aims to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general
medical practice and to act as the “voice” of GPs on issues
concerned with education, training, research, and clinical
standards. Founded in 1952, the RCGP has over 25,000 members who
are committed to improving patient care, developing their own
skills and promoting general practice as a discipline. http://www.rcgp.org.uk/