Safeguarding Children | James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is committed to ensuring that it has in place systems to safeguard the welfare of children.

This includes working in partnership with other relevant organisations to ensure we provide care that is safe, and proactively identifying children and young people who are at risk.

Some of the measures we have in place to ensure this include:

Disclosure & Barring Service (formerly CRB) checks for staff in accordance with statutory employment regulations.
Safeguarding Children policies and systems which work in partnership with our key local stakeholders. These are systematically reviewed to ensure they meet national guidance and recommendations resulting from child protection cases. This is part of the Trust's commitment to ensure continuous improvement in its processes to protect children and young people.
Processes to follow up missed outpatient appointments which include flagging up where there are specific concerns about the safety and welfare of vulnerable children and young people.
Safeguarding Children training for new and current staff in line with national guidance.
Named professionals with clear roles and responsibilities for supporting the safeguarding agenda.
Board level executive leadership for safeguarding, which is provided by the Chief Nurse who reports directly to the board on any concerns within the Trust.
Safeguarding procedures within Accident and Emergency are clearly set out within the Trust's Safeguarding Children policy and further enhanced with department specific guidance.

More information about Safeguarding Children

Legislation around children's safeguarding

What makes children vulnerable?

What is child abuse?

Framework for the assessment of children in need and their families

Types of abuse

The four main types of child abuse are listed below;

Physical
Emotional
Sexual
Neglect

Other abuses are Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), Domestic abuse and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse may involve:

Hitting or Shaking
Throwing
Poisoning
Burning or scalding
Drowning
Suffocating
Or otherwise causing physical harm to a child

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. (Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013)

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not a child is aware of what is happening.

Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and / or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development.

Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse.

Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:

Provide adequate food,
Provide clothing and shelter,
Ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers),
Ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

Sexual exploitation of children and young people under 18 involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where young people (or a third person or persons) receive ‘something’ (e.g. food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts or money) as a result of them performing, and/or another or others performing on them, sexual activities.

Child sexual exploitation can occur through the use of technology without the child’s immediate recognition; for example being persuaded to post or send sexual images on the Internet/mobile phones.

In all cases, those exploiting the child/young person have power over them by virtue of their age, gender, intellect, physical strength and/or economic or other resources. Violence, coercion and intimidation are common, involvement in exploitative relationships being characterised in the main by the child or young person’s limited availability of choice resulting from their social/economic and/or emotional vulnerability.

(National Working Group for Sexually Exploited Children and Young People 2008)

Domestic Abuse

Domestic violence and abuse is ‘any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

FGM (sometimes referred to as female circumcision) refers to procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

The practice is illegal in the UK.

The legal situation;

FGM is practiced in some cultures but it is illegal in the UK. It is also illegal to arrange for a child to be taken abroad for FGM. If caught, offenders face a large fine and a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

How to make a referral

James Paget Safeguarding Children Policy

Safeguarding Children Policy