How we safeguard children
Safeguarding children is everybody’s business and we understand that children have a right to be protected from harm and all adults have a responsibility to protect children from harm.
The Trust provides a range of health services to children and their family and also to adults who care for or have contact with children. To ensure we are safeguarding children and young people responsibly across all services, all health staff undertake training in how to spot and report child abuse.
We recognise the importance of partnership and we work between children and young people, parents and carers, and agencies to stop and prevent child abuse in accordance with the law. We work with everyone to make sure that children are safe.
Our safeguarding children policy
Our trust has a legal duty to report any concerns about a child or adult’s safety to social care or the police.
If your own child is abused, you have a legal responsibility to get help to keep your child safe. If you do not take steps yourself or seek others to help you to protect your child there may be a need to find alternative safe care for your child to protect them from any future harm.
If you spot abuse or have concerns about a child’s welfare as a patient or visitor to our Trust (or elsewhere) you have a legal responsibility to report this to stop any further harm or abuse from occurring and stop the perpetrator of the abuse from being a potential risk to other children or adults.
Our safeguarding policy outlines that we:
- Protect children from maltreatment
- Prevent impairment of children’s health or development
- Ensure that children grow up in a safe environment and are cared for effectively
- Take action to ENSURE all children have the best outcome where there are welfare or safeguarding concerns by working together with the child, their family and other services to get the right support at the right time
We act in accordance with the Children Act 1989 and Section 11 of the Children Act 2004.
Everyone can help to keep children safe
At the Trust we have a legal duty to report any concerns about a child’s safety to social care or the police. But keeping children and young adults safe is up to everybody, both in and outside of the Trust.
If your own child is abused, you have a legal responsibility to get help to keep your child safe. If you do not take steps yourself to find others to help you to protect your child, there may be a need to find alternative safe care for your child to protect them from any future harm.
If you spot abuse or have concerns about a child’s welfare as a patient or visitor to our Trust (or elsewhere), please report it. Doing so can stop any further harm or abuse and can help to put an end to the abuser’s actions.
Some common signs of abuse of neglect include:
- Unexplained changes in behaviour or personality
- Becoming withdrawn
- Seeming anxious
- Uncharacteristic aggressiveness
- Poor bond with a parent
- Knowing about adult issues that are inappropriate for their age
- Running away or going missing
- Consistently wearing clothes which cover their full body
Contact
If you have concerns about a child please contact:
Emergency
In an emergency contact the police on 999.
