The review identified five key areas which required urgent attention in the NHS. The Department of Health has requested all NHS trusts review their systems and processes and produce information on them. These key areas, and the steps which NHS Bradford and Airedale are taking to address them, are summarised below:

1. Criminal Record Bureau checks

It is the policy of NHS Bradford and Airedale to use the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) to assess the applicant’s suitability for positions identified as being exempt from The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. All applicants for posts with access to children are subject to a CRB check.

2. Child protection policies and systems

Our Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures was reviewed and agreed in November 2008 and all staff have access to it through the intranet. It is updated and new procedures are added as necessary. Our policy and procedures will be reviewed again in early 2010 following the publication of new government guidance on Working Together to Safeguard Children which is expected later this year (2009).

Members of staff who provide services for children and their families have access to advice from our safeguarding children team during office hours and also 24 hour access to the children’s safeguarding and reviewing unit of the local authority for information and advice relating to children at risk of maltreatment.

Supervision of staff is important and is in place for all community staff with responsibility for children, where risks are identified. Plans are put in place for families who require extra support and for children who need to be protected.

3. Safeguarding children training

The Royal Colleges for doctors and nurses have produced an intercollegiate document setting out the required training for various groups of staff who have access to children entitled ‘Safeguarding Children and Young People: Roles and Competencies for Health Care Staff’. We have a training programme of training in place, including induction training for new employees, to ensure that all staff who are eligible for training have received it. This also includes training available from the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board. We are amalgamating and developing information systems to monitor staff training programmes to make sure staff members receive the required level and amount of training.

4. Designated and named professionals

Like NHS Bradford and Airedale, every primary care trust must have a designated nurse and doctor to advise on safeguarding children issues at a strategic and commissioning level. They must also have a named nurse and doctor to advise on and co-ordinate the safeguarding children services at a practice level, including primary care services.

NHS Bradford and Airedale has both designated and named professionals in place as required and has had for many years.

Job descriptions and a Service Level Agreement have been developed and in place for the designated nurse role and job descriptions are in place for the named nurse and doctor roles. The job descriptions and service level agreement for the designated doctor role is under development and will be completed by the end of November 2009.

5. Primary care trust board assurance

We have an executive director who has the lead for safeguarding children and who is a member of the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB). Our provider services, Bradford and Airedale Community Health Services also has an executive member on the BSCB.

Our safeguarding processes have undergone a series of in house and multi-agency audits in the last 18 months. The multi-agency Joint Area Review that took place in February 2008 reported that the Safeguarding Children services in Bradford were good and following the death of Baby Peter and the Haringey review, an independent multi-agency review of the BSCB policies and procedures and their implementation took place in January 2009. The findings were presented in a report to the BSCB.

Safeguarding children systems at NHS Bradford and Airedale have been the subject of internal audit in 2009, the report is awaited at present.

The process and quality of child protection supervision has been audited and found to be good.

Record-keeping in health visiting and school nursing has been audited in some areas in line with recommendations from local review recommendations, and training audits are in progress.
Our board receives assurance from its provider organisations regarding the safeguarding services and issues in regular reports to the quality review meeting.