Citation

Forge J. Community Pract. 2010; 83(1): 16-19.

Affiliation

South West Essex Community Services, Anglia Ruskin University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

20196303

Abstract

This study explored the purpose and use of children's (aged nought to 16 years) records in an emergency department (ED) as a means of safeguarding children. It aimed to elicit ED staff and local child protection group perceptions of the use of these records. A case study methodology was utilised to uncover the story of why and how ED child records were used.The study was carried out in three stages--an analysis of a purposive sample of ED children's records, a focus group with 12 ED staff members in the case study site, and a focus group with 12 members of the local operational child protection group. The emerging findings indicate that child records are a good tool for communication, however the risk factors are not always recognised and the records are not sufficiently child focused. They also highlight that existing written records did not provide a format that enabled staff to record information comprehensively.

Language: en