Protection for at-risk youngsters

Published on Saturday 6 May 2006 12:13

A NEW computer system designed to warn doctors, teachers, social workers and police when a child is at risk is set to go live this week.

The early warning system, called C-me, is the first of its kind in Scotland and is set to be launched in West Lothian on Tuesday.

If successful, the scheme, which has seen records of almost 37,000 children entered into the system, will be extended so that professionals throughout the Lothians can see if a child is already of concern to other agencies.

The need for information sharing in the Lothians was identified following an inquiry into the death of baby Caleb Ness who was left in the care of his brain-damaged father and recovering drug addict mother. The case of three-year-old Michael McGarrity, who was found in a flat in Leith beside his mother's dead body in November, has also raised serious concerns.

Dr Helen Hammond, a consultant paediatrician with NHS Lothian, is leading the project which has been developed in collaboration with the local council, police and justice departments.

She said: "It has been three years since we started working on this and it has been quite challenging. We need to be sure the information kept is secure and safe and accurate so it can help to protect children and help them to meet their full potential. But on the other hand, if we keep information too safe and secure then we can't do that so there is a real balance to be met."

So far, 76 child-protection workers, including police, social workers and health visitors, have been trained to use the system.

Eventually all children's workers, including teachers and school nurses, will have access to information about the children in their care. Staff who work with children with complex behavioural needs or disabilities at a centre in Armadale will also be using the system to assess the future care needs for the child.

The level of access they have to the system depends on their job and where they work and teachers, for example, will only have access to basic information about pupils attending their school.

A second level of access allows the professionals involved with the child to see who else is dealing with the case and how they can be contacted. The highest level of access will allow workers using a secure connection to exchange information about a youngster on the child-protection register.

As documents are currently posted between agencies, the computer system will also mean that information can be exchanged far more quickly.

Detective chief inspector Willie Guild said the system will mean that police, social work and health officials will work together more efficiently. He said: "It's going to enable us to share the key information and record it and it's going to prevent duplication of work and standardise inter-agency recording procedures."

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