Every doctor has a duty to report suspected child abuse or neglect

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22782907

BMJ. 2012 Jul 10;345:e4719. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e4719.

Every doctor has a duty to report suspected child abuse or neglect, says GMC.

Dyer C.

Source

BMJ.

"All doctors have a duty to report concerns that a child may be at risk of abuse or neglect, even if their work is with adult patients, says new guidance from the General Medical Council.1

Niall Dickson, the GMC’s chief executive, said that doctors need not worry that the regulator would “come after them” as long as they followed the guidance and took action through the proper channels.

Paediatricians have shunned child protection work after high profile cases in which some have been hauled up before the regulator after complaints by parents. Two paediatricians with an international reputation, Roy Meadow and David Southall, were ordered to be struck off the medical register..."