The government have today announced plans for an
online system to detect cases of child abuse at hospitals across
England.
Responding to the announcement, Action for Children Head
of Campaigns and Public Affairs Matthew Downie said,
"This is a welcome initiative to help protect children who have
been abused from suffering further harm. Professionals across
health and social care have long been frustrated at the lack of
joined-up working across agencies to keep children safe, and so
this is a real step in the right direction.
"By its nature the new Child Protection Information System will
only pick up children who have already faced physical injury. Those
who suffer non-physical harm, such as emotional abuse or sustained
neglect, will still fall through the cracks.
"All too often neglected children are let down by the child
protection system because, for many, until they suffer physical
harm nobody intervenes to help them. In the most extreme cases this
can lead to serious injury or even the death of a child. That is
why we are calling for the government to update the antiquated law
on child neglect, which currently only recognises physical
harm."