Safeguarding

If a child is at risk right now

Do not use this website. This site is not monitored continuously and an enquiry may not be read for a day or more.

If a child is in immediate danger, call the police on 999.

If you are worried about a child's safety but it is not an emergency, contact the children's services team at your local council, or call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000, which is open at any hour.

For urgent medical concerns, contact your GP or call NHS 111.

Our commitment

This practice works to recognise and respond to concerns about a child's welfare. The practitioner maintains safeguarding training appropriate to working with children and follows local safeguarding partnership procedures.

Safeguarding takes precedence over confidentiality. If we believe a child is at risk of significant harm, we will share information with the appropriate authorities, and we may have to do so without your agreement. Wherever it is safe to do so, we would tell you first.

Confidentiality and its limits

What you tell us is treated confidentially. There are two situations where we may have to share information without your consent: where a child is at risk of significant harm, and where we are required to do so by law or a court order.

We will always try to discuss this with you first unless doing so would place a child at greater risk.

Raising a concern about this practice

If you have a concern about the conduct of this practice, please see our complaints procedure. If your concern relates to a child's safety, contact your local authority's designated officer directly — you do not need to raise it with us first.