Children, young people and safeguarding
We all have a duty to keep children and young people safe, healthy and happy. At Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, we put the welfare of the family at the centre of our standards of care and our ThinkFamily policy aims to capitalise on every opportunity to understand when children and young people particularly may need our help or that of other agencies. It is sometimes difficult to know what to do when you have concerns about a child or a family, so please read the following information for help and advice.
Professionals rely on people to help alert them that children and young people might be suffering harm, abuse or in need of support. We aim to support families that would benefit from extra help with parenting their children so that children and young people are not put at further risk. Everyone can help by being aware of children and young people around them and alerting services of even the smallest concerns.
What to do if you are worried about a child
There are a number of things you can do if you are worried a child or young person may be suffering, or at risk of suffering harm.
Call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 - adults who are concerned about a child can speak to a trained child protection officer for advice about what to do (you can also email helpline@nspcc.org.uk for advice).
If you are a child or young person, you can call ChildLine on 0800 1111 to talk about any problem - counsellors are always there to help you sort it out. It is free and confidential.
Speak to your (or the child’s) GP, health visitor, school nurse or other health professional so that you can share your early concerns. You could also speak to the child’s teacher. All professionals have guidelines on how to act when children and young people are at risk. They will be able to advise you on what to do next.
Telephone Derby Children’s Social Care (Social Services) on 01332 786968 (Out of Hours) / Derbyshire Children's Social Care (Social Services) on 08456 058 058 and ask to talk to someone about your worries.
Contact the Police on 0345 123 3333.
If you think a child or young person is in immediate danger, call the police on 999.
All concerns about children and young people are taken very seriously - do not worry that your concerns will be dismissed or ignored. You could help to end a child’s suffering by your actions.
Further information including safeguarding procedures can be found at: Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Board 01629 532169 or Derby Safeguarding Children Board 01332 717811.
Paediatric liaison service
The paediatric liaison service ensures effective two-way communications and sharing of information between the Royal Derby Hospital and community teams to enable children and their parents to receive appropriate care and support. The service participates in investigating sudden unexpected deaths in infancy, co-ordinates the 'care of the next infant scheme' and works closely with other agencies to reduce accidental injuries to children and young people.
Referral criteria
- Notification of all children and young people who attend accident and emergency (A&E) at the Royal Derby Hospital is made to the service
- Adults with a responsibility for children may be referred to the service where there are concerns that there may be an adverse impact on a child’s health and wellbeing
- Families who have had an unexplained infant death are referred to the service during subsequent pregnancies as well as families who have had an explained infant death or infant successfully resuscitated who are particularly anxious and may benefit from extra support.
Referral mechanism
- Children and young people who attend Royal Derby Hospital's A&E department are automatically referred to the service
- Adults can be referred by completing a concern referral form or verbally
- Referrals from consultants are made in writing
- Pregnant women can be referred by contacting the service directly by phone
- Hospital staff can refer either verbally, by way of the service communication book or completing a concern form
- Staff requiring information can contact the service directly by phone.
Referrals received from
- Royal Derby Hospital's A&E department
- Royal Derby Hospital's inpatient wards and departments
- Derby Urgent Care Centre
- Derby Open Access Centre
- Therapists
- Specialist teams
- Other hospitals
- Midwives
- Health visitors
- School nurses.
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is committed to safeguarding adults in our communities who may be at risk from abuse and neglect. We work very closely with Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council in safeguarding adults who use our services.
Who might be at risk from abuse?
Some adults may not be able to take care of themselves very well or protect themselves from abuse or exploitation. This includes:
- People with mental ill health
- People with learning disabilities or physical disabilities
- People who, because of illness or age depend on others for care
- People with dementia
- People with long term health needs
- People who misuse drugs or alcohol.
What do we mean by abuse?
Abuse can take many forms. Abuse can happen anywhere and at any time and can be committed by anyone. It includes:
- Physical abuse – being hit, slapped, punched or kicked on purpose
- Sexual abuse – being involved in sexual activity that is not wanted or not understood
- Emotional abuse – being humiliated, threatened, controlled, isolated, intimidated, verbally abused or prevented from receiving support from services
- Neglect – not being provided with food, clothing, attention or care, preventing access to health, social care services or education or misusing medication
- Discrimination – being treated unfairly because of gender, race, culture, background, age, disability, sexuality or illness.
- Financial abuse – theft or misuse of money, property or personal possessions, pressure in connection with property, inheritance or wills or in entering financial agreements.
If you suspect an adult is at risk of abuse, or if you are experiencing abuse, you can access help on the following numbers:
Derbyshire Adult Social Care – 08456 058 058 or 01629 533190 (lines open 24 hours)
Derby City Adult Social Care – 01332 717777 (between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday) or 01332 786968 (between 5pm and 9am Monday to Friday, and all day Saturday & Sunday.
If you think something needs to be done straight away to protect yourself or another adult of abuse, please ring 999
This guidance relates to adults (people who are aged 18 years or over). If you are concerned about the safety of a child or young person, please access advice through the link on the right-hand side of the page Children and Safeguarding.
Welcome to the health protection section of the trust internet, information you will find below is available to both internal and externals and should assist in clarifying some issues surrounding the trust health protection agenda.
Areas covered here are part of on-going work to protect both service users and members of the public.
- MAPPA
- Contest - Prevent and Channel.
What is MAPPA
MAPPA stands for Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements, they are a set of arrangements established by multiagency working to assess and manage the risk posed by sexual and violent offenders. Agencies include police, probation, prison, health, local authorities etc.
The principles governing MAPPA are simple:
- Identify who may pose a risk of serious harm
- Share relevant information about them
- Assess the nature and extent of that risk
- Find ways to manage that risk effectively, protecting victims and reducing further harm
The arrangements operate across England and Wales and allow agencies to review the risk posed by offenders and the actions taken to manage them.
For more information see the Useful Safeguarding Information section.
What is CONTEST
The aim of CONTEST is to reduce the risk to the UK and its interests overseas from terrorism, so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence.
The counter-terrorism strategy is organised around 4 work streams, each comprising a number of key objectives:
- Pursue: to stop terrorist attacks
- Prevent: to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism
- Protect: to strengthen our protection against a terrorist attack
- Prepare: to mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack
The main area for information to trust staff is Prevent which aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It is a response to the ideological challenge faced from terrorism and aspects of extremism, and the threat from those who promote these views. It provides practical help to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure they are given appropriate advice and support and works as a multi – agency approach involving a wide range of sectors (including education, criminal justice, faith, charities, online and health) where there are risks of radicalisation.
It covers all forms of terrorism, including far right extremism and some aspects of non-violent extremism and the work is prioritised according to the risks.
DHCFT works in partnership with other agencies supporting people who are at risk of being drawn into terrorist activity through the Channel process, working together to give individuals access to services such as health and education, specialist mentoring and diversionary activities.
For more information see the Useful Safeguarding Information section.
What is MARAC
MARAC is a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference, a meeting where representatives from a number of organisations discuss the safety, health and well-being of people experiencing domestic abuse (and their children) and draw up an action plan to make them safer.
Each case that is reported is assessed to decide the level of risk. The risk factors can include the nature of abuse (e.g. emotional, physical, sexual), previous behaviour or convictions, threats to kill and the involvement of drugs or alcohol. In most cases, people give their consent to be discussed at MARAC. In a very small number of cases someone may be referred to the MARAC without their consent. This only happens where there is an urgent need to protect that person or their children.
For more information see the Useful Safeguarding Information section.
Public Resources
- Derbyshire Constabulary – Terrorism
- CONTEST summary
- CONTEST strategy
- What is Pursue
- What is Prevent
- Prevent strategy
- What is Channel
- Channel Guidance
- MARAC leaflet for Professionals
- MARAC leaflet for Victims
- Derby City Multi Agency Protocol for Pre Birth Assessments and Interventions.
Resources to Trust Staff
Please note that these resource are only accessible to internal Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust staff
- MARAC - CAADA-DASH:
Risk Identification Checklist for use by all agencies for MARAC case identification when Domestic Abuse, Stalking, ‘Honour’- based violence and/or stalking are disclosed - Derby & Derbyshire Joint MARAC & IDVA Referral Form
- Channel Vulnerability Assessment
- Channel referral form
(Please note contact must be made with the trust Safer Care Coordinator or Deputy Chief Nurse in the event that a trust referral is required) - Safeguarding
