Communication of concerns about the wellbeing and safety of children can normally be managed by the relevant professionals in the Family Team in the associated school group. Named Persons are identifiable by the child’s age or school attended.

Hospital staff may not be able to easily or immediately identify the appropriate team, school, Named Person or existing Lead Professional. Hospital staff who need to share a concern about a child and are unsure which team to contact should contact the Child Protection Advisor Team (Health) for further advice. Additional help and advice numbers for Social Work teams, including Emergency Social Work are also available at www.hcpc.scot.

In such cases, the person reporting the concern should record their actions and follow up the discussion with a completed Health Child Concern Form which they should send to the identified Named Person/Lead Professional/Team and any other relevant health professionals.