Child protection in a south London district

Jean Gilardi's study of health visitors' child protection training needs in Lewisham and North Southwark shows that 97 per cent of health visitors have been directly involved in at least one case where a child's name was on the child protection register and over 70 per cent in five cases or more. In 42 per cent of 112 cases the health visitor was the first to suspect abuse and nearly 40 per cent of health visitors had been involved in some preparation for court proceedings. The study also found that a clear majority of the health visitors felt their initial training in child protection was less than adequate.