Children at risk

Education

“Health professionals working together to keep children safe” is the title of an online resource designed specifically for health professionals working in Victorian hospitals and community settings.

This resource will assist all health professionals to:

• better identify vulnerable children
• better respond to situations where abuse or neglect are suspected
• better understand the child protection service system.

As health professionals working in both acute and community settings, we work every day with families who are vulnerable and may need greater support to ensure that their children have the opportunity to develop to their full potential. We also have a special responsibility to ensure that children are safe and protected from any harm. This responsibility extends to all health services including adult focussed services and speciality services like mental health, dental, eye and ear services.

This resource is an excellent starting point for educational activities within health services to enable staff to gain greater experience and confidence in understanding their role and responsibility in protecting children from harm.

About the resource

• The resource consists of three short modules which can be returned to at any time
• Each module contains information, interactive case studies and provides direct links to relevant publications and legislation
• Each module may take a participant approximately 15 minutes to complete and a total of 45 minutes to complete the entire package in one session
• A certificate of completion can be printed as a record for participants undertaking the course.

Who should use this resource?

• This resource is designed for all staff who provide patient care in acute or community health settings, including medical, nursing and allied health
• This is an introductory resource and all staff who work with children and adults in health care settings will benefit from using this resource either as a first introduction or as a refresher
• Health areas that should use the resource:
  • paediatric
  • emergency
  • maternity and newborn
  • mental health
  • surgical
  • medical
  • dental
  • community health
  • general practitioners
  • maternal child health
  • social work.

To access the resource go to the Protecting Vulnerable Children website.