There are two sources of sadness. The first is that the Portal is needed at all. The tragedy of humanity is that all of us who are parents can think of times when we should have done better and sadly there are some people for whom this seems to be an ongoing recurrent challenge that they cannot meet, but there are also people who have malevolent motives towards children. So this essential resource is available for all members of the RCPCH, as it is a member benefit, to help you protect children from these risks.
My other source of sadness, is that this marks the demise of Paediatric Care Online (PCO UK). This was an attempt by the College to develop Key Practice Points for many conditions across the paediatric spectrum. Sadly, despite much marketing this did not attract much internet traffic from College members. The most used elements on the site were the British National Formulary for Children (BNFc), Public Health England's immunisation guide and the Child Protection Companion (CPC).
As both the BNFc and immunisation guide are available elsewhere on line, free to doctors, it was just the CPC which was the main draw to the site. So, we have enhanced the website for this. The CPC is available to browse through and download as PDF files. There are also highly informative resources on the evidence base on major topics including bruising, bite marks, fractures and neglect.
Additionally, all the key practice points from PCO UK are still available on the new portal, but will be withdrawn as each one reaches its expiry date. Access the range of topics here.
I would strongly encourage you to explore this new site – see our resources, find out about the evidence reviews and educational opportunities, and if you’re an RCPCH member, log in to the Child Protection Companion.
This news item was originally published on the RCPCH Child Protection Portal on 16 June 2020