Safeguarding emphasised in draft GMC guidance on care for children

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By Daniel Pye

Doctors should actively involve young patients and their families in children’s care, according to new draft guidance from the General Medical Council.

The document for clinicians working with under-18s also stresses that safeguarding is a "core part of providing good care”.

The revised guidance covers how to consider a patient’s capacity to consent to treatment, how to assess their best interests, and identifying and protecting those who could be at risk.

The regulator has launched a consultation on Children and young people: care and safeguarding, which replaces two long-standing documents.

Being a single guide will make it easier for doctors, physician associates and anaesthesia assocaites to find the information they need, in what are often “complex, sensitive and challenging situations”, the regulator said.

The guidance includes sections on communication and support; confidentiality; child protection; and sexual activity.

"Professional and ethical challenges'

According to the document, doctors “must have the knowledge and skills to recognise signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect” and “take appropriate and prompt action if necessary.”