Society updates guidance on child protection
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has issued new guidance designed to inform pharmacists and pharmacy staff about their responsibilities under child protection legislation.
The revised guidance is an update of a document first published last
year (PJ, 6 August 2005, p175 PDF (80K)). It outlines the principles
of child protection and provides pharmacists and their staff with advice
about what to do
if they suspect child abuse or neglect among their patients.
The new version takes into account updated government guidance on child
protection and reflects changes to local child protection frameworks
in England, where area child protection committees have now been replaced
by “local safeguarding children boards”.
The revised guidance also provides additional direction for pharmacists
on the reporting of sexual activity in children. Interim guidance on
this was published late last year as a Law
and Ethics Bulletin item (PJ,
17 December p758). Following the publication of national guidelines,
this has been incorporated into the child protection guidance document.
Douglas Simpson, chairman of the Society’s Law and Ethics Committee,
which developed the guidance, says: “Pharmacists and pharmacy staff
regularly come into contact with children and their families in the course
of their work and sometimes meet families who are experiencing difficulties
looking after their children. “The changing nature of pharmacy
practice makes this more likely to occur in the future, which means the
profession could well have an increased role to play in child protection.
This is obviously a highly sensitive area and we hope this revised guidance
will help pharmacists and pharmacy staff to understand more about their
responsibilities towards protecting children and help them handle any
situations they encounter with the necessary care and sensitivity.”
The Society’s 12-page “Guidance on child protection” document
is available on-line (PDF 240K).
Copies can also be requested by e-mail (qualityimprovement@rpsgb.org)
or telephone (020
7572 2208).
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