This page will explain the Child Protection Medical Examination process for parents and caregivers.
When there are any concerns raised about a child’s safety, social workers and doctors always follow a standard safeguarding process, which may include a referral for a Child Protection Medical Examination. The professionals involved in child protection examinations are specifically trained, and your child will be seen by a specialist children’s doctor (paediatrician), who is used to examining children.
Consent
Firstly, an adult with parental responsibility will be asked to give consent (permission) for the examination by the doctor. In some instances, older children (secondary school age) who fully understand what is involved may be able to give consent themselves. Ideally, consent will be confirmed by signing the consent form. However, verbal consent can be given to the doctor over the phone in certain circumstances.
If you or your child do not consent to the examination, but the doctor, social worker or police feel an examination may be in your child’s best interest, they will discuss this further with you. If they are concerned and do feel an examination is necessary, or need to ensure your child’s safety, they may seek a court order. If approved, a court order would give the doctor permission to speak to, or medically examine your child, without parental consent.
Child Protection Medical Examination
Firstly, the specialist children’s doctor (paediatrician) will talk to you, your child and your social worker about any concerns that have been raised and will make a written record of these.
The doctor will also ask for some general medical information about your child including:
- previous illnesses, regular medication, and allergies
- their birth history
- vaccinations given
- their development and their progress at nursery/school
- family history of any illnesses
- who lives at home with your child and who is involved in your child’s life
There will also be another person in the room called a chaperone. They will be there to help your family during your time at Coniston (where the assessment will take place) and will observe the whole assessment.
The doctor or chaperone will then measure your child’s height and weight. The doctor will carry out a general examination for your child, such as listening to their heart and chest. The doctor will also carry out a detailed head-to-toe examination.
If there are any injuries or marks seen, the doctor will carefully measure these and draw them in your child’s medical notes. This detailed examination can take quite a long time, but it is important for the doctor to make an accurate record of any injuries/marks.
After the examination is finished, the doctor will explain their initial findings to you, the social worker, and your child, depending on their understanding.
The doctor will then need to complete a written detailed report for the professionals involved, including your general practitioner (GP), the social worker, the police (if involved) and sometimes the school nurse or health visitor. This written report is detailed and may take some time to be completed. This child protection examination report and the clinical notes may be used as evidence in court if necessary.
Clinical photography
In some cases, the doctor will request that photographs are taken of injuries/marks seen on your child during the examination. The doctor will discuss this with you if they feel photographs are needed. The photographs will be taken by the Clinical Photography department. This will either take place at Solihull Hospital, Heartlands Hospital, or the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), and an appointment will need to be made. The images will be stored securely.
Further tests (X-rays and blood tests)
Sometimes, the doctor may need to arrange other tests, for instance blood tests or X-rays. This will always be discussed with you if these are needed.
Who else could you meet?
Social worker
Social workers work within the community to help children and families, protecting them from harm and supporting them to find solutions to their problems. The social worker will likely come with you to the Child Protection Medical Examination, and stay whilst your child sees the doctor, if you are happy for this to happen. The social worker may come to see you before the Child Protection Medical Examination. This is so that they can introduce themselves and explain what is going to happen.
Police officer
Police officers play a vital role in keeping us safe. They will be involved to assist the social worker in gathering information about what has happened. They may see you before the Child Protection Medical Examination, along with the social worker.
Children’s safeguarding doctor
The doctor you will meet is specially trained to work with children and young people. They are here to listen to you and your child, and to help your family by examining your child and speaking to you and the social worker. The doctor may make suggestions to the social worker on how to keep your child safe and may also arrange for your child to go to the hospital to have photographs taken. Sometimes, the doctor may ask for your child to have a blood test, or an X-ray taken too.
Clinical photographer
If your child needs to have photographs taken, then they will be required to go to the Hospital. There, they will meet a clinical photographer, whose job is to capture different types of images, which make include taking photos, videos, or 3D images.
Hospital staff
If your child needs to go to the hospital, during their visit they may meet several different hospital staff, who are all there to help make sure things run smoothly for you. This may include a receptionist, healthcare assistant, nurse, doctor, or play therapist, for example. They will introduce themselves and help make your child feel at ease whilst they are there.
Where will it take place, and who will be there?
Most of the time, you will meet the doctor and chaperone in a building called Coniston which is at the back of the Solihull Hospital, by the visitor’s car park. In some cases, you may be asked to come to a community clinic, or a different hospital such as Heartlands Hospital or Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Sharing relevant information, reviewing cases and storing information
The information is shared with the social worker and the police (if they are involved) in accordance with the Health and Social Care Act 2022.
Specialist children’s doctors from our Trust routinely review cases at local child protection review meetings. This is to ensure our doctors are managing cases appropriately, and in a standard and consistent way. All information regarding your child will be stored securely and following national data protection legislation (General Data Protection Regulation GDPR 2018).
Additional sources of information
The NHS Choices website offers information about a wide range of health topics:
If you have any questions you want to ask about your child’s condition or treatment or if there is anything you do not understand and you wish to know more about, please write them down and your doctor will be more than happy to try and answer them for you. You can also speak to your GP and your child’s health visitor or school nurse if you think of something after you have left our appointment.
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Last reviewed: 31 July 2024