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GUIDANCE ON DOCUMENTATION

In order to comply with Government guidance laid out in the document "Promoting the Health of Looked After Children" the Looked After Children Team at Lewisham Community Health use BAAF (British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering) forms. In addition, a consent form that covers parental consent for the whole period a child is looked after has been devised. This reduces the need for repeat permissions for regular health matters. (Lewisham health consent form can be found in the forms library).

The BAAF forms meet the requirements of the Children & Adoption Act 2002. They provide a comprehensive record of children from before being looked after until they leave care or are adopted.

The BAAF forms:

• They encourage a comprehensive and holistic health assessment on entering care (including health promotion). The old forms did not meet these requirements.
• They collate important health information for children and their families, which otherwise could easily get lost once a child becomes looked after.
• They result in clear health recommendations for the child’s care plan
• They reflect the enhanced role of nurses in performing statutory health assessments.
• Use of a standardised form throughout the UK sets the same standard of practice and facilitates placement across borders.  The increase of interagency placements has highlighted the need for standardised assessments.
• They comply with the strict requirements of obtaining consent to collect health information and do the assessment.

The new forms substitute the old ones as follows:

NEW		OLD
Form IHA – C	Initial health assessment for children up to 9 years	Form C & D
Form IHA – YP	Initial health assessment for young people 10 years and older	Form YP
Form RHA – C and YP	Review health assessment	Form AME
Form MB – M	Maternal, pre-natal & obstetric information	Form MB
Form MB – B	Neonatal information N.B. Form B is attached to Form M and will need to be separated	Form MB
Form PH	Health of birth Parents and birth family	Form A

Note: Forms MB and PH provide health information that is essential for a comprehensive assessment when a child enters care, and are completed for all children entering care regardless of their age at the time of becoming looked after.

Without consent the Medical Adviser, the LAC nurses and the other doctors performing statutory health assessments (i.e. the Looked After Children Team of Lewisham Community Health) are not allowed to request any information from other health professionals and agencies.

The Looked After Children Team of Lewisham Community Health will not see a child without consent.

Please Note: To improve the quality of Health Assessments, In some circumstances it may be essential that on the Health Assessment Consent Form, personal details for example Birth Parents contact details are not disclosed. If this is the situation you are presented with clearly write in bold capitals 'CONTACT DETAILS NOT TO BE DISCLOSED'.

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