3.2.1 Children Admitted to Hospital |
AMENDMENT
This chapter was updated in October 2009 to remove references to the Hospital Social Work Team.
Contents
- Children who are an Open Case to Another Social Work Team
- Children who are not Allocated to Another Social Work Team
- Adoptions from Hospital
- Antenatal Referrals and Pre-Birth Conferences
1. Children who are an Open Case to Another Social Work Team
1.1 Case responsibility
Where the child is an open case, the child remains the responsibility of the relevant social work team.
Hospital staff will deal directly with the allocated social worker. If there are any problems with this, the hospital staff will contact the allocated social worker's manager.
Social work staff should deal with the most senior nurse or doctor available when contacting the ward. Social workers should ask to speak to the nurse in charge - although this person will vary from day to day they will ensure that a proper handover takes place.
Each week there is an admitting consultant and this is the person that should be contacted on the medical side. This will lead to clearer lines of communication.1.2 Involvement of allocated social worker
The allocated social worker should visit the child within 1 to 2 days of the hospital admission. Thereafter, the social worker should visit the child on a regular basis.
Following each visit, the social worker should record an entry in the child’s health record. All that is required are brief notes to confirm their visit and any actions to follow. Social workers can obtain the child’s health records by asking a member of the nursing staff.
The social worker should also attend the Ward Psychosocial Meetings and record the outcome on the child’s record. If the social worker is unable to attend the meeting, a hospital social worker will attend on their behalf, record the outcome and forward a copy to the social worker.
When the child is ready to be discharged, hospital staff will raise the need for a Discharge Planning Meeting with the social worker. Any such meeting should be arranged by the social worker. The meeting will usually be held in the hospital. All relevant staff should be invited to ensure proper arrangements are put in place prior to the child’s discharge.
2. Children who are not Allocated to Another Social Work Team
Any child who remains in hospital for 3 months will be referred to the Assessment Team.
The procedures to be followed after such a referral will be the same as for all children - as contained in the Contacts and Referrals Procedure.
3. Adoptions from Hospital
Where an expectant mother indicates she does not want to care for the baby, the Assessment Team should contact the Adoption Team immediately.
A Permanency Planning Meeting can be held before the baby’s birth - see Permanency Planning Procedure.
For the procedure to be followed if adoption becomes the preferred plan, see Pan London Adoption Procedures.
The Assessment Team staff, in consultation with the Adoption Team, should develop a ward management plan with the mother to provide a guide for all staff. For example, the mother may elect not to hold the baby and staff need not force her but must also be aware of her right to change her mind. The plan should also include the mother's wishes in relation to having a photograph taken with the baby or having the baby photographed with items of clothing/toys she has provided.
The plan should also include anything that may assist with Life Story Work for the child, including the retention of significant items such as the name bracelet or anything the mother has provided.
The members of the hospital staff also need to know that the baby is likely to be collected by a foster carer and they will need identification if the social worker cannot be present.
The Assessment Team staff should obtain as much history as possible in relation to both parents and their extended families as the mother may cease contact after the child's birth. This should include interests, talents, education and hobbies as well as medical backgrounds.
4. Antenatal Referrals and Pre-Birth Conferences
| 4.1 | All Antenatal Meetings (known as Link Meetings at North Middlesex Hospital) are to be attended by the manager or deputy of the Assessment Team and checks made on the electronic recording system in relation to all cases where there are reported 'social concerns'. |
| 4.2 | In some cases, the Assessment Team Manager may have to insist that a proper referral is made because checks on the electronic recording system reveal that the case is known to Children's Services, for example because the mother's older children have been or are being Looked After. |
| 4.3 | In other cases, further information will be required, for example where there is a history of drug use or mental ill health. It is essential that the name of the midwife and/or doctor is obtained, further enquiries made and clarification sought so that a decision can be made on the action required, having regard to the vulnerability of the newborn baby. |
| 4.4 | Careful attention must be paid to expected delivery dates as the mother may give birth and leave hospital on the same day. It is often the case that substance-abusing mothers give birth earlier than expected and a prompt assessment will therefore be required. |
| 4.5 | Where a Strategy Meeting is required prior to the baby’s birth, for example where there are concerns about continued drug use during pregnancy, staff from both the labour ward and the post-delivery ward should attend. |
| 4.6 | Instructions to nursing staff to observe and record the interaction between mother and staff should be clearly written on medical notes and included in any pre-birth meetings. |
| 4.7 | Whenever there are concerns, a Discharge Planning Meeting should be convened and hospital staff advised that discharge should not take place prior to this meeting. The nursing and medical staff and the health visitor should be invited and their roles in the provision of follow-up services, including at weekends, clearly identified. Extended family members should also be invited with the parents’ agreement. |
| 4.8 | When a mother gives birth and there is no record of her having received antenatal care at that hospital, enquiries should be made. If the mother reports having received such care elsewhere, the details provided should be checked. If the information provided cannot be confirmed, the following action should be taken:
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