NSPCC calls for national information standard

Child abuse deaths could be missed because hospitals lack a national system to identify them, according to an NSPCC study published in September. The report finds that child abuse is only identified as contributing to a child’s death if firm evidence is in place. Researchers found that inconsistent accounts (such as parents or carers changing their stories) most frequently alerted paediatricians to suspicious deaths (80 per cent), followed by unusual bruising (62 per cent) and the death of another child in the family (46 per cent). Three quarters of paediatricians believe that monitoring children at risk needs to be better prioritised and that there should be better training for health professionals.