Search Here

A new report suggests that while some boys are actually clumsy, others are victims of abuse.

A health minister was quoted as saying by The Telegraph that doctors will decide whether "clumsy" children who tend to fall and injure themselves have been abused by their family.

Dan Poulter, the health minister, said that boys who fell down often while playing could be clumsy, but there are also some who are abused/attacked or neglected by their family.

The report further said that medics will be trained in such a way so that they can accurately spot children who have been abused and a new child protection database will alert hospital staff to children who are feared to be at risk.

The plans come in the wake of recent high-profile scandals wherein the social workers, the health service and the police have failed to protect children.

The announcement said that this new Child Protection Information System will operate from next year to "flag" children at risk who come to hospital accident and emergency departments.

"Most people who take their child to an A&E will take their child to the same A&E. Boys are clumsy, boisterous, they can get knocked over and have a number of injuries sometimes," Dr. Poulter told BBC News.

"Staff at the moment make a judgement on those attendances. But we're dealing with some parents who potentially can behave in a very devious manner."

Dr. Poulter added that the medical staff would still require a good training, because "devious" parents may take their children to different hospitals to escape detection.

"All staff who work in these care settings are routinely trained," he said. "Variations in standards of training are being addressed by professional bodies for medical and social services "to make sure that the training is improved."

With the help of the new system, all children are taken to the casualty departments in hospitals or those who visit out-of-hours GPs will be run through a national database to spot signs of abuse by "devious parents". Each emergency visit would be connected via an NHS computer system to help uncover abuse and neglect by parents. Ministers want all hospitals to start using the system by 2015, the report in The Telegraph said.