The specialist skills of the Health Visitor are crucially important in safeguarding children (HM Government, 2010). In the past decade there has been significant change in nursing and healthcare that has led to a much wider remit for those involved in working with children and subsequently child protection (Hall and Elliman, 2006; Department of Health, 2004); indeed Health Visitors are responding to a national drive to further enhance their contribution to public health (Department of Health, 2009).

It is against this backdrop that the critical need to develop the leadership role of the Specialist Community Public Health nurse within the process of recognising and referring child maltreatment emerges. This requires Team Managers to …show more content…

Therefore to ignore abuse would be to deviate away from public health policies and guidelines, and neglect the legal requirement to promote the Every Child Matters outcomes.

Furthermore, Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to make further enquiries to decide whether action is needed to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child where significant harm is suspected. However, as Paragraphs 1.28 and 1.29 of Working Together to Safeguard Children (HM Government, 2010) demonstrate, there are no absolute criteria to use when assessing significant harm, and so in some cases, where there may be no physical or real evidence of harm, professionals may be uncertain as to whether to initiate Section 47 enquiries (NHS Trust, name withheld, 2010). In these circumstances, arrangements are often put in place to monitor the child’s welfare; despite this, NHS Trust Policy (NHS Trust, name withheld, 2010) warns professionals never to use monitoring as a means of deferring referrals or avoiding difficult decisions, as failing to act puts the child at further risk of harm.

This therefore places the Specialist