Case study: the value of closed cases

Health and social care staff need to share information to help them provide better care and earlier interventions for children who are considered vulnerable and at risk. 

There are 152 local authorities and more than 1,200 unscheduled healthcare settings in England (such as emergency departments, walk-in centres, and maternity units) using more than 75 different computer systems.

The Child Protection - Information Sharing project (CP-IS) is connecting these systems and helping sites to improve business processes so essential information can be shared securely.

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust provides acute healthcare services to a population of approximately half a million people. The trust went live with CP-IS in March 2015.

Michelle Mulvaney, the trust's Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children, describes how the information CP-IS provides about closed cases is making a difference at Watford General Hospital;

"We find closed cases very useful. Knowing that a child previously had a child protection plan in place means we can consider the child in context of previous child protection concerns when carrying out their clinical assessment."

"A toddler was brought into our emergency department as her parents were concerned that she may have suffered a head injury after falling out of a cot. On admission the child's demographics were checked, which included the NHS number. A CP-IS child care alert was present which stated that the child had been on a child protection plan some months earlier.

"In addition, the triage nurse had concerns about the mother's presentation and behaviour. There was little engagement with the child and, after being informed about the wait to see a doctor, the parents left the hospital with the child receiving no treatment.

"This worrying behaviour and concern for the child's wellbeing, combined with the additional information that the child previously had a care plan, led us to make a safeguarding referral to the social care team responsible. This referral led to an assessment and early intervention by the social care team."
Michelle Mulvaney,
Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

• Having access to CP-IS information promotes the duty of care and is paramount to the child's safety and wellbeing.

• The child in this case had recently been subject to a Child Protection Plan. This information was visible to health staff via CP-IS as it remains on the system for 365 days after the end date of the plan.

• This information helped to ensure that child protection processes were followed to safeguard the child.

CP-IS is currently being introduced to local authorities and unscheduled healthcare settings across England.