NCJ Number
166019
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1997) Pages: 60-64
Date Published
1997
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Physicians who are general practitioners in the United Kingdom have an important role in child protection, but they need training to address the gap between expectations and the perception that their performance is inadequate.
Abstract
The general practitioner's role in child protection can include prevention, identification, involvement in investigation and decisionmaking, and involvement in provision of ongoing care for child and family members. The challenges are to convince general practitioners of the need to learn about child abuse and to provide training opportunities that are accessible, credible, and appropriate to the needs and working realities of general practitioners. Two successful approaches to such training are those of the Suffolk Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) and the Oxfordshire ACPC. Factors critical to successful outcomes in Suffolk include the active support of purchasing authorities, the trainer's familiarity with the work and language of general practitioners, the professional credibility and authority of the trainer, flexibility and willingness to reschedule training and recognize the pressures under which general practitioners work, and soundly based case material. The Department of Health has produced a training package called "A Safer Practice" for use in general practice.