We aim to provide the best possible health and wellbeing services to Looked After Children in North and North East Lincolnshire.
We provide:
- A designated Doctor and Nurse for Looked After Children
- A named Looked After Children Nurse for the child/young person in your care
- Initial health assessments when the child/young person becomes looked after
- Six-monthly health assessments if your child/young person is under the age of five
- Yearly health assessments if your child/young person is over the age of five
- Written reports for the child/young person looked after children statutory review
- Individual health advice and support whether the child/young person lives at home with a parent or relative, lives with a foster carer or lives in a children’s residential home
- Health assessments in a place the child/young person wishes to be seen e.g. home, school, clinic the choice is theirs
- One-to-one health discussions with foster carers and the child/young person if they are worried about their health e.g. healthy eating and weight concerns or how you are feeling
- Pregnancy testing and sexual health discussions
- Information on health such as immunisation schedule, dental checks etc.
More information is available on the related pages.
Need to cancel an appointment?
Please visit the appointments page and contact the relevant team.
The statutory health assessment
When a child/young person becomes looked after, they will be offered a health assessment to make sure they are fit and healthy and any health neglect is addressed. The first appointment can be at a Children’s Centre or a hospital outpatient clinic. If the child/young person is over the age of five they will be offered a health assessment every year and if they are under five they are offered an appointment every six months. One of the Looked After Children’s Nurses will contact the child/young person and carer to make arrangements to be seen either at home, in school, in a clinic setting, or in a place of their choice. A health care plan will then be available so everyone caring for the child/young person will know how to meet the health needs of the child/young person.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality for Looked After Children is extremely important. We will listen very carefully to what they tell us. We would only discuss their health issues with someone else if they allow us to do so, or if we think that not doing so would place them at risk of harm.
Consent
People over the age of 16 are entitled to consent to their own treatment, and this can only be overruled in exceptional circumstances. Like adults, young people (aged 16 or 17) are presumed to have sufficient capacity to decide on their own medical treatment, unless there is significant evidence to suggest otherwise. Children under the age of 16 are presumed to lack capacity but can consent to their own treatment if it is thought that they have enough intelligence competence and understanding to fully appreciate what is involved in their treatment. Otherwise, someone with parental responsibility can consent for them.
Need an interpreter?
If you need an interpreter or someone to help you or the child/young person hear, such as a sign language expert, you can request one before the health assessment so you or the child/young person can fully contribute to the health assessment. You can contact the health team on the number below to make any arrangements you need.
Top tips for foster carers
- Make sure you take your child/young person’s health care plan to all health appointments
- Don’t forget to take the child/young person’s consent form with you to health appointments. If you don’t have it, ask your social worker to obtain it for you as soon as possible
- If the child you are caring for requires additional medical treatment such as blood tests, an operation or an X-ray, make sure you tell the doctor or nurse at the clinic appointment so you and the child/young person’s social worker can get consent sorted out before the appointment to not cause any delay in the child/young person’s treatment
- Make sure your social worker has given you the child’s Red Book. If it’s not available ask your health visitor or Looked After Children’s team to get you a copy
- Don’t forget to cancel any health appointments if you can’t make it and rearrange
- Please take a card with you to hand to the receptionist if you don’t want you or your child/young persons names calling out in the waiting area.
Top tips for social workers
- Please keep the Looked After Children team up-to-date with change of carers and address changes
- Do ensure the child/young person’s carer is given the child’s Red Book. If a duplicate copy is needed contact the child’s Health Visitor or Looked After Childrens Nurse
- Please make sure the foster carer is given the child’s consent form signed by the person with PR or children’s social care manager
- Please ensure consent forms for treatment such as blood tests, operations and X-rays are given priority so delay is not caused chasing consents
- Please ensure if the child changes carer the healt, the care plan is given to the new carer.
Contact us
North East Lincolnshire
Looked After Children and Safeguarding team
Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital
Scartho Road
DN33 2BA
03033 305383
nlg-safeguardingadmin@nhs.net
North Lincolnshire
Looked After Children and Safeguarding team
Modular Building
Scunthorpe General Hospital
DN15 7BH
