Protección de los niños

Vea también el separado Protección de los niños - Cómo reconocer el abuso o a un niño en riesgo artículo.

General principles of safeguarding children

• The child's welfare is paramount. The child's best interests override other considerations such as confidentiality, consent and the carer's interests.

• Where there is an immediate risk of serious harm to a child, act immediately (see 'Initial actions if you think a child may be at risk', below).

• Share information with other agencies on a 'need to know' basis.

• Where possible, and if compatible with the child's best interests:

  • Respect the child's views.

  • Obtain consent.

  • Involve the carers (if the child is competent, this must be with the child's agreement). Do not involve carers if this would compromise the child's safety or evidence.

• Keep full and contemporaneous records.

• Recuerde a otros niños en el hogar (incluidos los que están por nacer) - ¿están en riesgo?

• All doctors have a duty to safeguard children and to ensure follow-on care for the child:

  • The non-specialist's role is not to make a definite diagnosis of child abuse but to recognise the possibility and enlist appropriate help.

  • The doctor concerned about a child must ensure follow-on care.

• As of 31st October 2015, health professionals have a mandatory duty to report female genital mutilation (FGM) in girls under the age of 18.¹

If a child discloses abuse to you

• Stay calm; find a quiet place to talk.

• Believe in what you are being told. Listen but do not press for information.

• Say that you are glad that the child told you.

• Explain that the abuse was not the child's fault.

• Explain that you will do your best to help the child. Do not promise confidentiality. (See 'Confidentiality and sharing information', below.)

• Involve them in the discussion and plan of action and ask what would be a good outcome in their eyes.

Confidentiality and sharing information²

• Doctors have a statutory obligation to tell an appropriate agency (eg, local children's social services, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) or the police) promptly if they suspect that a child or young person is at risk of, or is suffering, abuse or neglect, unless it is not in their best interests to do so.

• Delaying the decision to share information with an appropriate agency where a child or young person is at risk of, or is suffering, abuse or neglect must be taken with extreme care. Such a situation might arise where the increased risk to the safety or welfare of the child or young person clearly outweighs the benefits of sharing information. The decision must be justifiable and documented, and any advice sought from a third party should be recorded.

• If there is a possibility of abuse or neglect but the child or young person is not necessarily at immediate risk of significant harm, seek advice. This would normally be from the designated lead child protection GP in the locality in the first instance.

• Se debe explicar al niño la importancia y los beneficios de compartir esta información con las personas/agencias adecuadas y obtener su consentimiento si es posible. Si esto presenta un retraso, la necesidad de compartir la información en caso de riesgo significativo para el niño u otros niños debe prevalecer sobre cualquier preocupación acerca del consentimiento. La confidencialidad sigue siendo importante y el intercambio de información debe ser proporcional al riesgo de daño. En caso de duda, se puede solicitar asesoramiento al médico de cabecera designado para la protección infantil, a su organización de defensa o a un organismo profesional como el GMC.

• The child should be given an explanation of what information has been shared, with whom and why, unless doing this would put the child, young person or anyone else at increased risk.

• If the child does not have the understanding or capacity to consent, the parents should in most circumstances be approached for their consent. The principles of the best interests of the child however remain paramount if consent is denied.

• Information can be shared without consent if it is justified in the public interest or required by law, or if it is judged to be in the best interests of the child and they do not have the maturity to reach this decision.

• When sharing concerns about possible abuse or neglect, the doctor who shares information does not have the final decision about how best to protect a child or young person. That is the role of the local authority children's services and the courts.

• All discussions and decisions about information sharing should be recorded and justified.

Recomendaciones del Instituto Nacional para la Excelencia en Salud y Atención (NICE)³

CONSIDER child maltreatment

CONSIDER means maltreatment is one possible explanation for the alerting feature or is included in the differential diagnosis.

If an alerting feature prompts you to consider child maltreatment: look for other alerting features of maltreatment in the child or young person's history, and presentation or parent-child (or carer-child) interactions now or in the past and do one or more of the following:

• Discuss your concerns with a named or designated professional for safeguarding children, a more experienced colleague, a community paediatrician, child and adolescent mental health service colleague.

• Gather collateral information from other agencies and health disciplines.

• Ensure review of the child or young person at a date appropriate to the concern, looking out for repeated presentations of this or any other alerting features.

At any stage during the process of considering maltreatment, the level of concern may change and lead to excluding or suspecting maltreatment.

SUSPECT child maltreatment

SOSPECHA significa que hay un nivel serio de preocupación sobre la posibilidad de maltrato infantil, pero no hay pruebas de ello.

If an alerting feature or considering child maltreatment prompts you to suspect child maltreatment then refer the child or young person to children's social care, following Local Safeguarding Children Partnership procedures.

EXCLUDE child maltreatment

EXCLUDE child maltreatment if a suitable explanation is found for the alerting feature. This may be the decision after discussion of the case with a more experienced colleague or gathering collateral information as part of considering child maltreatment.

Keeping records⁴

• Keep clear, accurate and legible records.

• Make records at the time the events happen, or as soon as possible afterwards.

• Record your concerns, including any minor concerns, and the details of any action you have taken, information you have shared and decisions you have made relating to those concerns.

• Make sure information that may be relevant to keeping a child or young person safe is available to other clinicians providing care to them.

Looked-after children and young people⁵

NICE has produced guidance on looked-after children and young people, which includes a section on safeguarding. In summary this recommends:

• A multidisciplinary approach facilitated by local authorities.

• Safeguarding meetings that bring together practitioners from multiple agencies, eg, social care; fostering, residential and connected care; education, healthcare; voluntary agencies, housing services, emergency services, policing and immigration.

• Specialist support to address safeguarding risks outside the home, exploitation and children missing from care.

• Data sharing across agencies at individual, group and community level.

• Training and review meetings.

• Positive relationships (including broader relationships such as those with carers, siblings and practitioners) as the main way to prevent exploitation and children going missing from care.

• Tailored support for the looked-after child or young person to prevent exploitation, by addressing issues specific to young girls and boys, trafficking children and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

• A review of the case files to help the safeguarding partnership learn and develop future safeguarding responses (or to inform best practice).

Initial actions if you suspect a child may be at risk⁶

In primary care

If you suspect child maltreatment, you should refer immediately as appropriate to one of three agencies:

• The local child social services.

• The police.

Ambas agencias tienen poderes legales de protección infantil para actuar de inmediato y garantizar la seguridad de un niño. Donde no hay peligro inmediato, el local child social services equipo normalmente sería la vía de derivación. Este equipo es responsable de responder a familias y niños que necesitan ayuda adicional, investigar sospechas de maltrato infantil, convocar reuniones y conferencias de protección infantil y coordinar planes de protección infantil. Pueden llevar casos a los tribunales cuando sea necesario para proteger a los niños y son responsables de los niños bajo el cuidado del consejo o de los niños colocados fuera de su hogar familiar. El Director de Servicios para Niños de la autoridad local tiene la responsabilidad última de la protección de los niños. Sin embargo, la orientación del gobierno enfatiza que la protección infantil es responsabilidad de todos y para ser efectiva, todos los servicios deben desempeñar su papel.

Where there is immediate danger to a child, the police have the authority (under the Children's Act) to enter a house and remove a child for their safety. The police can enter premises and remove a child to a place of safety for 72 hours. Examples of emergencies are:

• Recent sexual assault (<72 hours ago) - see 'Suspected sexual abuse', below.

• The child is unprotected and at risk of serious harm.

• Any baby with signs of non-accidental injury.

También se puede contactar a la NSPCC para obtener asesoramiento.

Other points:

• Dentro de 48 horas, confirme por escrito cualquier derivación telefónica que haya realizado. Los servicios sociales deben reconocer su derivación por escrito dentro de los dos días posteriores a la recepción. Si no se recibe dentro de los tres días hábiles, contacte nuevamente con los servicios sociales. Estos plazos se toman del sitio web de los Procedimientos de Protección Infantil de Londres y pueden variar en otras partes del país. ⁷

• If in any doubt about level of risk, or uncertainty about suspicions, discuss your concerns with colleagues and seek advice:

  • Within the team (lead GP in the practice for child protection, or a more experienced colleague).

  • Outside the team (with the designated child protection health professional or, if unavailable, with social services).

• Document all your concerns, discussions and decisions.

• Consider the safety of other children within the family.

• If the child requires referral/admission to hospital, ensure the paediatrician is aware of your concerns. Check that the child has arrived and been seen. Consider liaising with the hospital so that your referral letter is sent directly to the appropriate person by the most expedient route (eg, confidential e-mail).

• If sexual abuse is suspected, see 'Suspected sexual abuse', below.

• As of 31st October 2015, cases of FGM in girls under the age of 18 should be reported to the police.¹

Hospital or accident and emergency

• All hospitals will have their own protocols and designated lead professional.

• When a child presents at hospital, enquire about previous admissions.

• If you suspect a child is at risk, consult with colleagues - eg, a named professional for child protection or a consultant paediatrician.

• If there is a risk of immediate serious harm, refer to the police (as above), who can arrange emergency protection for the child.

• If the child is admitted:

  • A named consultant must be responsible for the child protection aspects of care.

  • The child must be thoroughly examined within 24 hours (unless too unwell).

• If there are concerns, do not discharge the child from A&E or a ward unless:

  • There is an arranged plan in place for future care.

  • The child is registered with a GP.

• Notify the GP of hospital/A&E attendances.

• In a non-emergency situation, where it is thought best for the child to stay in hospital but the parents (or a competent child) request discharge, obtain urgent legal advice. Explain to the family why clinical supervision is advised.

• A concern about suspected abuse must not be dismissed without proper consideration, including a second opinion if necessary.

• Roles: consultant paediatricians are central to the investigation and treatment of abused children but have no legal authority to conduct a child protection inquiry. Therefore, social services (and the police, in urgent cases) should be involved.

• As per the section 'In primary care', above, all professionals who identify cases of FGM in girls under the age of 18 during their professional work have a duty to report this to the police.

Safeguarding children across the UK

Principles and policies are similar across the UK, although there may be some slight differences between naming of agencies and referral procedures. Information in government policy specific to the four nations is available as follows:

Inglaterra: "Working Together to Safeguard Children " - GOV.UK. ⁸

Gales: the GOV.UK document above and also the "A Guide for Safeguarding Children and Adults at Risk in General Practice" from NHS Wales. ⁹

Escocia: "National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland" and "Getting it right for every child" from the Scottish Government.^{10 11}

Irlanda del Norte: "Understanding the needs of children in Northern Ireland" from the Department of Health, Social Services, and Public Safety.¹²

Suspected sexual abuse^{6 13}

• No realice un examen íntimo en atención primaria.

• Use open questions, and record all questions and replies verbatim.

• Do not perform a forensic intimate examination unless you have the training and facilities to do so. (You may, if appropriate, perform a routine general examination to check general health or other injuries.) Refer urgently to a specialist in the forensic assessment of sexual assaults for the purposes of conducting a forensic examination and to consider the need for contraception and potential for sexually transmitted infection (STI).

• The police or a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) will be able to arrange a specialist assessment.

• To obtain evidence of sexual abuse, a forensic examination should preferably be done within 24 hours of the event; up to 72 hours is acceptable. Therefore, where suspected sexual abuse has occurred <72 hours previously, there should be an immediate discussion between the child/young person, health professionals, social workers and the police regarding the need for a medical examination. Depending on the type of assault, DNA can be gathered from 12 hours to 7 days after the event.

• Specialist follow-up for STIs and psychological sequelae and support will be required.

Further action¹⁴

Following referral (other than in an emergency situation), a named social worker will gather information and make an assessment. They will then determine the course of action - for example, that none is required or that an Early Assessment Framework (EAF) be initiated (in England). If a child is considered to be in need, ways to address these needs will be planned. If the child is deemed to be in need of protection, a strategy discussion will be convened, which may lead (via a Section 47 enquiry) to a child protection conference. If the child is considered to be in immediate danger of significant harm then more urgent protective action would be taken.

Por lo general, se pedirá a los médicos de cabecera que proporcionen informes sobre toda la familia. Es una buena práctica obtener el consentimiento e involucrar al niño y a la familia, y permitirles el acceso a los informes, aunque esto puede ser difícil dentro del corto plazo legal permitido para completar el proceso.

La orientación del Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) y el GMC aconseja que los médicos generales participen en conferencias de protección infantil, pero acepta que puede ser logísticamente difícil asistir; en realidad, la mayoría de los médicos generales adoptan el enfoque de que solo asistirán si pueden contribuir más asistiendo que enviando un informe escrito. Si la asistencia es difícil, los médicos generales deben elaborar un informe completo con anticipación y discutirlo por teléfono con el trabajador social o el presidente de la conferencia. La asistencia a las conferencias de protección infantil debe financiarse por separado de la financiación principal de los médicos generales, al igual que los informes de la sección 17; si esto no ocurre en su área, contacte a su LMC. ¹⁵

All members of the Primary Healthcare Team must be aware of local referral pathways and the role of joint working in child protection. It is also essential to develop and maintain the necessary knowledge and skills to help support families and to protect children and young people.

• La formación regular (adecuada al nivel de implicación) en la protección de los niños es obligatoria. Ya no es necesario que los médicos generales documenten un cierto número de horas de formación en protección - ahora se basa en competencias, utilizando los estándares de protección del RCGP. ¹⁶

• Ensure that the child and family have follow-on care.

• Medical records: ensure that child protection concerns are clearly identified (eg, coded in computer records).

• Child maltreatment raises strong feelings; those dealing with it may need support.

Sources of help in child protection