Recommendation 1

- There is a role for child protection public health nurses to work within the Child and Family Agency, to provide clinical expertise in the area of child health and development and to be the link between the Agency and local primary care teams.

- Alternatively, there is a role for a designated child protection public health nurses within primary care to support, supervise and strengthen the child protection aspect of the role of the public health nurse and to link with the Child and Family Agency.

- With the development of the Meitheal model there is also a role for the designated child protection public health nurse to liaise with the local coordinator of this initiative in respect of the cases that involve young children who require this specific support.

Recommendation 2 - Public health nurses should make use of the Child and Family Health Needs Assessment Record when making referrals to the Child and Family Agency. The assessment should cover issues specific to how parents’ problems are impacting on the health and development of a child/children.

Recommendation 3 - Social work teams should work at a local level with the public health nursing service, to promote and better understand the child protection referral and assessment process and the threshold for referral to the Agency.

Recommendation 4 - Social work teams should continue to work at a local level with the public health nursing service, so as to ensure prompt communication and follow-up following referral, thus ensuring that the child does not remain vulnerable and the public health nurse does not retain an unacceptable level of responsibility.

Recommendation 5 - There should be protocols in place to guide best practice in consulting with the child protection public health nurse in South Lee social work department.

Recommendation 6 - A course in court room skills should form part of the induction to the role of child protection public health nurse.

Recommendation 7 - A strategy should be developed to support assistant directors of public health nursing in developing skills in supervision so as to enable them to keep pace with the increasing complexity of child welfare and protection cases.

Recommendation 8 - The Child and Family Agency should ensure that the arrangements for the supervision of the child protection public health nurse are clearly understood and robust.

Recommendation 9 - The Child and Family Agency and the public health nursing service should take every opportunity to promote and publicise interdisciplinary training opportunities.

Recommendation 10 - The South Lee social work department should organise succession planning for the post of Child protection public health nurse.