About this guidance
Issue date: July 2009 (reissued December 2009)
Click here to view amendment (December 2009)
This is a quick reference guide (adapted by Tri.x) that summarises the recommendations NICE has made to the NHS in ‘When to suspect child maltreatment’ (NICE clinical guideline 89). To view the full version click here to download a copy from the NICE website (to download it right click and choose 'Save Target As'...)
Who should read this guidance?
This quick reference guide is for all healthcare professionals working in the NHS who work with children and young people. It may also be of interest to people outside of the NHS who work with children and young people.
Who wrote the guidance?
The guidance was developed by the National Collaborating Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health, which is linked with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The Collaborating Centre worked with a group of healthcare professionals (including paediatricians, GPs and child mental health professionals), people affected by maltreatment, and technical staff, who reviewed the evidence and drafted the recommendations. The recommendations were finalised after public consultation.
For more information on how NICE clinical guidelines are developed, go to the NICE website.
Where can I get more information about the guidance?
The NICE website has the recommendations in full, reviews of the evidence they are based on, a summary of the guidance for members of the public, and tools to support implementation (see Further information).
This guidance represents the view of NICE, which was arrived at after careful consideration of the evidence available. Healthcare professionals are expected to take it fully into account when exercising their clinical judgement. However, the guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual child or young person, in consultation with the child or young person and/or guardian or carer. Implementation of this guidance is the responsibility of local commissioners and/or providers. Commissioners and providers are reminded that it is their responsibility to implement the guidance, in their local context, in light of their duties to avoid unlawful discrimination and to have regard to promoting equality of opportunity. Nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties. |
