Legal aspects of medicine

Any doctor who suspects child maltreatment has the duty to act. Always try to gain consent and to share information and to involve a senior colleague. If you believe that a child is in immediate danger, you must act in the child's best interests.

Guidance from the General Medical Council says that all doctors have a duty to report concerns that a child may be at risk (this includes doctors working with adult patients where they suspect that their patient's child may be at risk). 'Doctors who make decisions based on the principles in the GMC guidance will be able to justify their decisions and actions if we receive a complaint about their practice.'

Reference

1. About our Protecting children and young people guidance; General Medical Council 2021.