BRITISH AGENCIES FOR ADOPTION AND FOSTERING IN SCOTLAND - SCOTTISH MEDICAL ADVISERS SURVEY

Children in local authority care (The survey was conducted before the term 'in care' was replaced by 'looked after' on The Children (Scotlan d) Act coming into force in October 1996) come from backgrounds of hig h incidence of mental illness, substance abuse and learning difficulti es and have often suffered from neglect and/or abuse. They have a high incidence of medical problems affecting both physical and mental heal th. The Committee of the Scottish Section of the Medical Group of Brit ish Agencies for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) were concerned about th e provision and coordination of medical services for children in local authority care. The aim of the survey was to identify the current and evolving practice among medical advisers across Scotland. Questionnai res were returned from 40 Medical Advisers representing each of the lo cal authorities in Scotland. The responses highlighted a variation in the implementation of practice in clinical services provided to childr en in care and by whom. It confirmed that difficulties in follow-up di d exist and revealed widespread confusion surrounding co-ordination of medical services, absence of procedures and ignorance of legal requir ements. The study confirms that involved medical practitioners need to have a pro-active role in co-operating closely with social work colle agues to provide a well co-ordinated service of medical supervision pr oviding a comprehensive assessment of health care needs as part of the overall child care plan.