5.1.2 Long Stay Hospital Admissions |
Contents
1. Introduction
Walsall MBC are required under the Children Act 1989, Sections 85 and 86 to have a protocol covering the arrangements for notifying Local Authorities when a Child’s stay in hospital exceeds 90 days.
Birmingham Children’s Hospital is the only local hospital with any recent dealings under this requirement.
2. Procedure for Birmingham Children's Hospital
The duty screening and awaiting allocated clipboards will be reviewed each morning and priorities discussed with the Team Manager.
All new referrals are entered onto Care-First as a duty-screening event and the Team Manager notified immediately regarding evident child protection concerns.
Referrals not meeting service priorities or falling into the remit of the Hospital’s Social Work Team will be sign posted to other agencies and recorded as enquiries and not duty screening.
For duty screening referrals, checks will be made as whether the family are known to Birmingham Social Care & Health. The file that is made will be clearly marked as ‘duplicate’ and details of where the previous files are held if the family are known. Contact with the Area Teams will also be made to ascertain the level and type of social work intervention in the past and request the files as appropriate.
The referral and information record will be completed and Care-First up dated as far as possible at the duty screening event.
Any referrals given to Social Workers who are based at the different hospitals will be passed onto the Referral and Advice Officer at the Duty Access Point at the Children’s Hospital or the relevant Area Offices if the child is not admitted in hospital or they are open to an Area Team. The social work team maintain their consultative attachment at the different hospitals and units e.g. Haematology Department.
Referrals will be taken regarding a child who has been in hospital for 90 days. If the child does not live in Birmingham then the relevant Local Authority will be notified.
3. Procedure for the Quest
Upon receipt of a referral from the Children’s Hospital the Senior SW/Team Manager will check whether the child/family is known to Walsall MBC. The file that is made will be clearly marked as ‘duplicate’ and details of where the previous files are held if the family are known.
Contact will then be made with the appropriate Area Teams will also be made to ascertain the level and type of social work intervention in the past and request the files as appropriate.
Senior SW/Team Manager will inform Service Manager for Child Protection and Review of any referrals received from Birmingham Children’s Hospital and discuss details of referral and any further action needed.
Any further action needed will be relayed back to the Senior SW/Team Manager at Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s Social Work Team.
A log of referrals in relation to stay in hospital exceeding 90 days is to be maintained by the Team Manager at the Quest.
End