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News items on 'Child Abuse'
Childhood abuse 'quickens ageing'
(BBC 21/11/2009)
Physical or emotional abuse during childhood could speed up the body's ageing process, US research suggests. A team from Brown University focused on telomeres, the protective caps on the chromosomes that keep a cell's DNA stable but shorten with age. They found the telomeres of 31 people who had reported abuse as children tended to shorten more rapidly, speeding up cells' ageing process. Experts cautioned that the study needed to be replicated on a larger scale.
Review of NHS children's services
(BBC 14/10/2009)
NHS policies on safeguarding children are to be reviewed following the Baby Peter case, Health Secretary Andy Burnham has announced. He told a healthcare workers' conference in Merseyside lessons from the "terrible tragedy" needed to be absorbed "at every possible level". Former Healthcare Commission chairman, Prof Sir Ian Kennedy, has been asked to complete the review by March 2010. Sir Ian will also examine how the NHS works with its partners
Guidance aims to spot child abuse
(BBC 22/07/2009)
A watchdog has issued guidance to help healthcare workers spot early signs of child abuse to avoid another Baby P. Experts say the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence advice could mean more referrals of children who may not be at risk. But it will ensure more of the right children are referred early for protection from abuse and neglect. Last year's 538,000 child referrals to social services is an underestimate of the numbers maltreated, they say.
Abused children therapy 'lacking'
(BBC 20/07/2009)
A children's charity says a huge shortfall in counselling is leaving thousands of sexually abused young people struggling to recover. The NSPCC says many services are so overstretched that they are being forced to close their books. It found fewer than one support programme per 10,000 children in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. MP George Galloway has revealed he was abused as a child, as he backed new checks for adults working in schools
Baby P doctor sues over dismissal
(BBC 19/06/2009)
A doctor who failed to spot that Baby Peter had a broken back and ribs days before his death is suing her former employers over her dismissal. Dr Sabah Al-Zayyat missed the injuries after deciding she could not perform a full check-up because he was "cranky". Two days later, in August 2007, Baby Peter died in his cot in Haringey, north London, at the home shared by his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger. Great Ormond Street Hospital said it would "vigorously defend its position".
Jeremy Laurance: Social services cannot recruit because of the Baby P effect
(The Independent 26/05/2009)
Last week was a grim one in the annals of child protection. On the same day that Baby P's abusers were sentenced following one of the grossest professional failures in recent memory, the controversial paediatrician David Southall, who pioneered covert video surveillance to detect child abuse, learnt that his career was over. His appeal to the High Court against a decision by the General Medical Council to strike him off the register was dismissed.
Baby P case 'hitting recruitment'
(BBC 05/05/2009)
The death of Baby P has had a "highly damaging effect" on the ability of local councils in England to recruit social workers, a survey suggests. The Local Government Association (LGA) found 60% of the 56 councils taking part in the study had problems hiring children's social workers. It also found 40% reported difficulties in retaining experienced staff. The LGA is blaming the criticism of the profession that followed the death of Baby P in Haringey, north London.
Warning over child hospital care
(BBC 13/03/2009)
NHS staff need better training in how to spot signs of child abuse, a health watchdog has warned. The Healthcare Commission found just under one-third of the 154 hospital trusts in England failed to meet child protection training standards. It also warned 63% did not do enough to ensure surgeons maintained the skills needed to operate on children.
Child social services 'declining'
(BBC 05/03/2009)
Services for vulnerable children in England deteriorated last year and remain the weakest area of councils' work, the Audit Commission has said. Haringey, where the Baby P scandal took place, was among four councils to go from a three-star rating to one. Doncaster, Milton Keynes and Surrey did the same, while only nine authorities achieved the maximum four stars - three fewer than had managed it in 2007.
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