RCGP responds to Casey Review

College responds to Baroness Casey's audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "The Casey review makes for highly distressing reading, showing how too many children have been let down for too long. It has highlighted the duty to safeguard some of our most vulnerable patients whilst making sure children feel comfortable accessing services.

“The forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce a new information sharing duty while the Policing and Crime Bill will introduce new mandatory reporting rules – both of which will apply to GPs. As a College, we will update our safeguarding resources for GPs to reflect these changes as they are introduced.

“We have raised concerns that introducing two different requirements to share information at the same time, with different processes and different thresholds, will be confusing for GPs without the proper support.

“We also need to make sure that consideration is given to how we can ensure that younger teenagers are not put off accessing GP care and sexual health services, and that professionals have the confidence to ask the difficult questions needed for safeguarding.

“We are engaging with DHSC, the Home Office and the Department for Education as the two Bills progress through Parliament to address these challenges as regulations are introduced.

“To support GPs and their teams in identifying cases of abuse and neglect, and work with multiple agencies to respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns, the RCGP publishes safeguarding standards for general practice. Alongside this, the RCGP Safeguarding toolkit provides resources to support GPs to safeguard children and young people. Recently, the College has also worked with the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse to co-develop a resource that aims to enhance GPs’ confidence in having conversations with children and young people about sexual abuse.”

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.