3.8.2 General Practitioners, Dentists and Opticians |
Contents
- Notifications and Registrations with GPs, Dentists and Opticians
- Appointments with GPs, Dentists and Opticians
1. Notifications and Registrations with GPs, Dentists and Opticians
Immediately after a child is placed, the social worker must undertake the following notifications/arrangements:
- Notify the Health Authority (in which the child is living) of the child’s placement.
- Arrange a Health Care Assessment – by contacting the Social Work Team Administrator. The Social Worker will be supplied with the medical assessment form and advised of the appropriate medical practitioner to contact dependent on the child’s placement type and location. The Social Worker should ensure that this assessment is carried out as quickly as possible. If a cost is incurred, the medial practitioner should submit their invoice to the Richmond and Twickenham PCT for reimbursement.
- Ensure that the child is registered with a GP, Optician and Dentist; preferably retaining registration with a practitioner known to the child. The social worker should liaise with the provider/carer to make these arrangements.
2. Appointments with GPs, Dentists and Opticians
If children appear to require or request it, appointments should be made for them to see their GP or other medical practitioners as appropriate.
When appointments are made, account should be taken of the child’s wishes, for example, to see a practitioner of a preferred gender. Also, appointments should preferably be made which do not disrupt the child’s education.
Parents and the child’s social worker should, if possible, be consulted before making appointments; but they must be informed of the outcome.
Details of appointments must be recorded on the child’s Chronology; where the child is placed in foster care, the carers should record the event on the child’s Daily Record and Detail Record.
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