Is the Children Act failing severely abused and neglected children?
Nigel Speighta, Jane Wynneb
a Dryburn Hospital,
North Road, Durham DH1 5TW, UK, b Clarendon Wing, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds,
UK
Correspondence to: Dr Speight
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
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Introduction |
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Is the Children Act failing severely abused and neglected
children? The simple answer to this question in our opinion is an emphatic "Yes". The press carries articles almost daily concerning the plight of children in our society.1 2 Most
paediatricians we have approached who have a special commitment to
child protection work admit to feelings of near despair about the
current state of child protection in this country. They feel that
things are getting worse rather than better, and lay much of the blame
for this on the Children Act and on the interpretation being put on this act by social workers, guardians ad litem, and the courts. We have
received comments to the effect that the Children Act can be regarded
as "A charter for abusive parents" or "A charter for abusive
parents, lawyers and medical experts"! While these comments are
anecdotal, impressionistic, and subjective we believe they deserve to
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Southall, D P, Samuels, M P, Golden, M H
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eLetters:
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- Is the Children Act failing severely abused and neglected children
- Michael Little
- ADC Online, 10 Mar 2000 [Full text]
- While having some sympathy with Drs Wynne and Speight...
- John A Davis
- ADC Online, 5 Apr 2000 [Full text]
- The Children Act - why does everyone assume..?
- Elizabeth Marsh
- ADC Online, 26 Jul 2006 [Full text]
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