Chapter Contents
- Introduction
- Registering with a GP, Dentist and Optician
- Health Assessments and Health Plans
- Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs)
- Recording and Reporting
Introduction
The placing local authority has a duty to promote each fostered child’s physical, emotional and mental health. They have to act on early signs of health issues.
Children can come into foster care with health problems due to past neglect and missed health appointments. They need quick access to local health services to meet their needs. For this reason, every local authority has a Designated Doctor and specialist nurses who co-ordinate local provision for children in care. The nurses are often called LAC Nurses.
Every fostered child will have a health assessment and a health plan to identify and treat any health problems, and to promote general health and wellbeing. The LAC nurse might conduct the health assessment, and they are a good source of information and advice. The child’s social worker will give you their contact details if you need their help.
Foster parents should provide a healthy environment and help children and young people learn about healthy eating, physical activity, sex and relationships, smoking, alcohol and illegal substances. It is important that children learn to understand their own health needs, look after themselves and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Complete the required training at Core grade: The Health of a Looked After Child
See our Health and Wellbeing Policy:
Read the Government’s guidance in relation to the health of looked after children.
Registering with a GP, Dentist and Optician
Unless the placement plan states that the child will remain with their current GP, you should register them with your GP straight away. A temporary registration is OK for very short-term placement, but most children will need a permanent registration so that their medical records transfer to the new GP practice. They will also be able to receive all the local health services they need.
You should also register the child with a local dentist and optician. The child’s social worker will be able to tell you when the child last saw a dentist or optician and when the next appointment is due. Often children in care have missed routine health appointments and may have unidentified needs that need addressing. Ensuring that they see key health professionals at regular intervals will inform the child’s Health Plan
Health Assessments and Health Plans
Every child who comes into care has an initial health assessment, carried out by a registered medical practitioner. This has to happen within 28 days of placement, which is when their care plan is first reviewed. The assessment is repeated every six months if the child is under 5, or every year for older children. The GP or LAC nurse can carry out these assessments, but children with complex health needs may have their health assessment with a paediatrician.
The Health Assessment will consider:
- The child’s current physical, emotional and mental health
- The child’s health history and family health history (where known)
- The effect of the child’s health on their development
- The child’s access to health services, including whether vaccinations are up to date.
Click here to see the current childhood vaccination schedule.
The health assessment informs the child’s health plan, which is part of their care plan. The health plan will identify key actions required to promote good health and wellbeing and address any health problems raised by the assessment. The plan will also clarify your role in responding to identified needs.
The child’s social worker should ensure that you receive a copy of the health plan. If you do not receive a copy, please notify your supervising social worker who will be able to request it on your behalf. If you receive a copy of the health plan through the post, please provide a photocopy to your local ISP Centre administrators, or your supervising social worker for our records.
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs)
The SDQ is a reliable and valuable screening tool for mental health problems and can be used as evidence to support a referral to local mental health services. They are particularly helpful if completed just before the health assessment, to inform the health plan.
The child’s local authority will ask you to complete the SDQ as the main carer, and return it to them. Your supervising social worker will help you if needed. If you are able, please take a copy of the form before you send it back to the child’s social worker. We can upload this to the child’s CHARMS record at ISP.
Recording and Reporting
Each child’s CHARMS record at ISP includes health information. We will input known health problems and make a record of any medication or other treatment the child is receiving.
You are able to add some information to the child’s CHARMS record, eg:
- Please report when the child attends a health appointment. You can add these as ‘progress’ items, eg. “dentist appointment”.
- Please report when you give medication. You can add these as a ‘significant event’ (monitoring event – prescribed medication or monitoring even – non-prescribed medication).
- Please report injuries, accidents and illnesses. You can add these as a ‘significant event’ (monitoring event – injury, accident or illness, non-serious)
N.B. Report any serious illness or injury to ISP without delay. We will take care of the reporting.
You will discuss the child’s health with your supervising social worker at every supervision, and this is a good time to give them general updates.
See Part 1 of the Foster Parent Handbook for more about record keeping.
Read our Record Keeping policy:
