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Child protection at risk as doctors’ fear for their futures
Restoring the confidence of paediatricians is crucial if children are to be properly protected in the UK says Professor David Hall, the former President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Writing in the January edition of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Professor Hall examines the role of paediatricians following the highly publicised cases against Roy Meadows and David Southall before the General Medical Council.
The paper highlights the serious concerns now held by doctors who fear professional risks if they raise concerns about child safety or provide evidence in court.
The review also provides a history of fabricated illness and how these have played out in courts and before the media including an explanation of Meadows’ 1 in 73 million statistic.
“It is a bitter irony that among the doctors who have been called before the General Medical Council are several who have contributed so much of our knowledge of child abuse,”writes Professor Hall.
“Many doctors now have no confidence in the competence of the regulatory authorities when making judgements about the expertise or professional behaviour of those working in child protection, despite the legal guidelines.
“Nor do doctors believe that the authorities are able to withstand public, political and media pressures in high profile cases. Changes in the way complaints are handled are urgently needed if we are to ensure the proper protection of children.”
With recent research showing most specialist registrars would prefer not to seek posts involving child protection work, Professor Hall outlines three necessary steps to ensure doctors in child protection can practice effectively: changes in the regulatory system; a stronger evidence base; and better training and continuing education for doctors.
Whilst the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has implemented a series of training measures, Professor Hall points out that these initiatives have been misinterpreted as an admission of past failings rather than moves to restore confidence in child protection work.
“We need to ensure that doctors do not have to be pre-occupied with the risk of having their career terminated by inappropriate complaints about their work,”said Professor Hall.
“The hope is that protecting children will once again be seen as a core part of paediatric practice while recognising there will not always be certainties in medicine.”
The Editor of the JRSM, Dr Kamran Abbasi, questions how the medical profession in the UK has ended up in this predicament.
“What forces have cowed a profession that prides itself on improving the health and lives of the most vulnerable in our society?”writes Dr Abbasi.
“Paediatricians have rightly begun to wonder who would protect them if they raised concerns or gave evidence in court. This is a worrying omen for children who are at risk of injury but on whose behalf the medical profession finds it increasingly difficult to speak up.“Child protection is not an issue for paediatricians alone but for everyone concerned with child welfare,”he said.[ends]
The Future of Child Protection [PDF 55k]
Editorial [PDF 33k]‘The future of child protection’ is published in the January issue (Vol. 99) of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
JRSM is the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. It has been published continuously since 1809. Its Editor is Dr Kamran Abbasi.
